Certain Bacteria Linked to Higher Rates of Type 2 Diabetes, Study

According to a new study, it has been discovered that the toxins produced by a bacterium may cause type 2 diabetes.

The research could now pave the way to developing vaccines that can hopefully prevent one of the most prevalent medical conditions of our time.

US researchers found that prolonged exposure to the toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria led to Type 2 diabetes related symptoms in rabbits. The symptoms included systemic inflammation, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance.

Lead researcher Patrick Schlievert, professor at the University of Iowa, said, "We basically reproduced Type 2 diabetes in rabbits simply through chronic exposure to the staph superantigen."

"I think we have a way to intercede here and alter the course of diabetes," Schlievert said.

 "We are working on a vaccine against the superantigens, and we believe that this type of vaccine could prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes," said Schlievert.

The findings also highlight how obesity can make people more vulnerable to type 2 diabetes since it results in changes in the ecosystem of the bacteria that have colonised our bodies.

"What we are finding is that as people gain weight, they are increasingly likely to be colonised by staph bacteria - to have large numbers of these bacteria living on the surface of their skin," Schlievert said.

"People who are colonised by staph bacteria are being chronically exposed to the superantigens the bacteria are producing," Schlievert said.

Scientists found that toxins produced by the straph bacteria interacted with fat cells and the immune system resulting in chronic systemic inflammation. This eventually leads to insulin resistance in the body and other type 2 diabetes related symptoms.