title: Impact of gut microbiota on diabetes mellitus.
abstract: Various functions of the gut are regulated by sophisticated interactions among its functional elements, including the gut microbiota. These microorganisms play a crucial role in gastrointestinal mucosa permeability. They control the fermentation and absorption of dietary polysaccharides to produce short-chain fatty acids, which may explain their importance in the regulation of fat accumulation and the subsequent development of obesity-related diseases, suggesting that they are a crucial mediator of obesity and its consequences. In addition, gut bacteria play a crucial role in the host immune system, modulation of inflammatory processes, extraction of energy from the host diet and alterations of human gene expression. Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota has been shown to confer a number of health benefits to the host. Simple therapeutic strategies targeted at attenuating the progression of chronic low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance are urgently required to prevent or slow the development of diabetes in susceptible individuals. The main objective of this review is to address the pathogenic association between gut microbiota and diabetes, and to explore any novel related therapeutic targets. New insights into the role of the gut microbiota in diabetes could lead to the development of integrated strategies using probiotics to prevent and treat these metabolic disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Blandino
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Inturri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lazzara
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Rosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy. Electronic address: lucmal@unict.it.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Malaguarnera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D051379:Mice; D009765:Obesity
keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic complications; Gut microbiota; Inflammation