The Depletion of Carbohydrate Metabolic Genes in the Gut Microbiome Contributes to the Transition From Central Obesity to Type 2 Diabetes

Obesity, especially central obesity, is a strong risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the mechanism underlying the progression from central obesity to T2D remains unknown. Therefore, we analyzed the gut microbial profiles of central obese individuals with or without T2D from a Chinese population. Here we reported both the microbial compositional and gene functional alterations during the progression from central obesity to T2D. Several opportunistic pathogens were enriched in obese T2D patients. We also characterized thousands of genes involved in sugar and amino acid metabolism whose abundance were significantly depleted in obese T2D group. Moreover, the abundance of those genes was negatively associated with plasma glycemia level and percentage of individuals with impaired plasma glucose status. Therefore, our study indicates that the abundance of those depleted genes can be used as a potential biomarker to identify central obese individuals with high risks of developing T2D.

Automated summary

This study identified microbial compositional and gene functional alterations during the progression from central obesity to type 2 diabetes (T2D), highlighting enrichment of opportunistic pathogens in obese T2D patients and depletion of sugar and amino acid metabolism genes. The abundance of these depleted genes was negatively associated with plasma glycemia level and the percentage of individuals with impaired plasma glucose status, suggesting a potential biomarker for identifying central obese individuals at high risk of developing T2D.