Scientists from several countries have found that a natural compound made by gut bacteria may help protect the body against type 2 diabetes.
This compound is called trimethylamine, or TMA for short. It is produced when certain gut microbes break down a nutrient called choline, which is found in many foods like eggs, meat, and fish.
This exciting discovery comes from a team led by Professor Marc-Emmanuel Dumas at Imperial College London and CNRS in France. The team included experts from universities in Belgium, Canada, France, and other countries. Their study was published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
The researchers discovered that TMA can stop a key part of the immune system from becoming overactive.
This is important because long-term inflammation caused by a high-fat diet plays a major role in insulin resistance, which is when the body no longer responds well to insulin. Insulin resistance is one of the first steps toward type 2 diabetes.
About 20 years ago, scientists started to understand that high-fat diets allow bacteria and their by-products to leak into the body and cause the immune system to overreact. This reaction leads to inflammation, which in turn damages how the body processes blood sugar.
One of the researchers, Professor Patrice Cani, helped show this back in 2005, even though many people were unsure about the idea at the time. Today, this link is widely accepted.
In the new study, the researchers looked more closely at how TMA affects this immune reaction. They found that it blocks a protein called IRAK4.
This protein normally acts as a signal that tells the immune system to react, especially when a person eats a high-fat diet. But when the signal stays on too long, it causes constant inflammation, which harms the body’s ability to control blood sugar.
Using human cells and mice, the researchers showed that TMA can attach to IRAK4 and calm it down. This reduces inflammation and helps the body respond to insulin again. In fact, giving TMA to mice helped protect them from deadly inflammation caused by infections.
To make sure their results were correct, the scientists also removed the IRAK4 gene from cells and blocked the protein with medicine. Both actions gave the same helpful results as using TMA. This means targeting IRAK4 could be a good way to develop new diabetes treatments.
The researchers say this discovery flips the usual idea that gut microbes only harm us. In this case, the gut microbes are helping protect us from disease by making a useful molecule.
With more than 500 million people living with diabetes worldwide, the results could have a big impact. In the future, it might be possible to create medicines or foods that increase TMA in the body to help prevent or treat diabetes.
What we eat affects our gut microbes, and in turn, these microbes can make chemicals that improve our health.
This large study included teams from across Europe, North America, and Australia. It was supported by many research organizations and funding bodies, showing the importance of global teamwork in solving major health problems.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about diabetes and vitamin B12, and the right diet for people with type 2 diabetes.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how to eat smart with diabetes, and turmeric and vitamin D: a duo for blood pressure control in diabetic patients.
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