The phrase ‘my gut feeling’ has got another scientific
validation with some new metagenomics studies published recently. After all, it seems that the gut can dictate the potential well being of an individual. A case in
point is the latest paper in Nature journal in which the researchers conducted
a gut metagenomic study on Chinese patients suffering from type 2 diabetes (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11450.html).
Gut microbiome has been in the forefront of research especially after the
advent of the Next Generation Sequencing technology. Today, the advancement in
the field of development of sequencers and sequencing technology is even challenging
the Moore’s law.
Gut microbiome also being called
as the “other genome” or human’s “second genome” is implicated in many of the
chronic diseases/disorders like obesity, inflammatory bowel disease and even
depression so it is natural that with the latest technology in hand the
scientists would focus on this in a much more refined manner. The present study
finds some interesting facts about the commensals in the gut of Chinese
patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. Functional characterization showed
that there was a decrease in the level of bacterial chemotaxis, flagellar assembly,
butyrate biosynthesis and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins in the gut bacteria
of these patients. The researchers also found markers that indicated that the
gut environment of a T2Dpatient is one that stimulates bacterial defence
mechanisms against oxidative stress. This might be interesting as previous
studies have implicated high oxidative stress levels to pre-disposition to type
2 diabetes. Strikingly, the researchers found orthologue markers that suggest
that these diabetic patients might have a hostile gut environment. The researchers
also found that there is moderate gut bacteria dysbiosis and an increase in
several opportunistic pathogens.
The above mentioned salient outcomes
of the study raise many exciting questions and possibilities. Does the change
in gut microbiome composition a cause or an effect of the disease? Scientists
would be addressing this part next with some studies in animals. Can in the
future the gut microbiome sequencing be used as a predictive tool? Can
modulating the gut microbiome cure such diseases? Can effective research in
pro-biotics now fill in the space and fulfill what modern medicines could not
achieve so far?
This is a perfect example of how
a 21st century technology has ignited a fresh look at the association
of the microbiome with the human health
