Background and Aims: Emerging evidence indicates that the gut microbiota contributes to the occurrence and development of metabolic diseases. While, little is known about the effect of antidiabetic agents on the gut microbiota. In the current study, we investigated the role of DPP-4i and acarbose in modulating the gut microbial community.
Methods: 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to analysis the effect of DPP-4i and acarbose on the gut microbiota in HFD mice. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from DPP-4i, acarbose, or placebo- treated T2D patients to germ-free (GF) mice was performed to investigate the contribution of the altered microbiota to the antidiabetic effect. Fecal metabolomics were analyzed by untargeted and targeted GC-MS system.
Results: DPP-4i and acarbose changed the gut microbial composition, and the DPP-4i- altered microbiome improved the glucose tolerance, while acarbose- altered microbiome did not. Moreover, DPP-4i primarily reduced the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, and changed the pattern of metabolites in HFD mice, especially the increase of succinate.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that the alterations of the gut microbial composition and metabolites might be a previously unsuspected hypoglycemic mechanism of DPP-4i. It might provide a potential strategy for modulating glucose homeostasis in the future.
X. Liao: None. H. Zheng: None.
