Protein in the gut could influence obesity and type 2 diabetes, study suggests
New research suggests that our genes dictate which bacteria thrive in our gut, thereby having a significant influence over obesity and potentially affecting the development of diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
The study, carried out at King’s College London and Cornell University and published in Cell, compared identical twins (who share 100 per cent of their genes) and non-identical twins (who share around half).
It was discovered that the gut microbes of identical twins shared more similarities, suggesting that some of the bacteria present in the gut is influenced by genes.
The bacteria type Christensenellaceae was more prevalent among people with low weight. It also protected mice from weight gain.
“Seventy per cent of differences between people in how fat they are due to their genes – that’s been known for about 10 years,” said Professor Tim Spector, head of the department of twin research and genetic epidemiology at King’s College.
“There’s possibly some big missing factor we haven’t thought of. Finding out if the microbes in our gut are influenced by the host’s genes or not is important. It’s a part of our body we’ve just ignored.”
Christensenellaceae could be given to obese people to address the genetic variation in how people respond …read more
Source:: News from Diabetes.co.uk