Research published in Cell on 29th August by the groups of Filipe Cabreiro from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences and Imperial College and Christoph Kaleta from Kiel University in Germany has demonstrated that diet can alter the effectiveness of a type-2 diabetes drug via its action on gut bacteria.
Bacteria that reside in our gastrointestinal tract, referred to as the gut microbiome, produce numerous molecules capable of influencing health and disease. The function of the gut microbiome is known to be regulated by both diet and drugs such as the drug metformin, which is used to treat type-2 diabetes and has been shown to extend the lifespan of several organisms. However, understanding the complicated, multi-directional relationships between diet, drugs and the gut microbiome represents a considerable challenge. “Disentangling this network of interactions is of utmost importance since the specific mechanism of action of metformin is still unclear,” says Filipe Cabreiro.
A new screening technique
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