Researchers link gut bacteria to type 1 diabetes

PARIS, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Researchers have found gut bacteria may play a role in the prevention and regulation of type 1 diabetes.

Researchers at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in France saw that antimicrobial peptides called cathelicidins are not produced by beta pancreatic cells, which secrete insulin, in mice with diabetes, but can be found in mice without diabetes. In a first test, they injected the diabetic mice with cathelicidins.

"Injecting cathelicidins inhibits the development of pancreatic inflammation and, as such, suppresses the development of autoimmune disease in these mice," said Julien Diana, a researcher at INSERM, in a press release.

The production of cathelicidins relies on short-chain fatty acids produced by gut bacteria. Taking the test further, researchers transferred gut bacteria from healthy mice to those with diabetes. In the diabetic mice, short-chain fatty acids began to be produced by the gut bacteria and cathelicidin levels returned to normal.

Research has shown this works similarly in humans, which may lead to future therapies for diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.

The study is published in Cell: Immunity.