Context: Western diet and unhealthy lifestyle have contributed to the continued growth of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). T2DM is associated with dysbacteriosis, and studies have found that altering the gut microbiota has a positive effect on treatment.
Objective: In addition to hyperglycaemia, T2DM often causes damage to multiple organs. However, there are few studies on organ damage from faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).
Materials and methods: T2DM mice were divided into four groups and were given phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (T2DM group), FMT (FMT group), Lactobacillus (LAB group), and Bifidobacterium (BIO group) by gavage for six weeks, respectively. Mice on a normal diet (control group) were gavaged with PBS for six weeks.
Results: After gavage treatment, FMT, LAB, and BIO groups were similar in lowering glucose, endotoxemia was slightly reduced, and the colonic mucus layer and liver lobules developed towards normal tissue. Surprisingly, we found that the FMT group had unique effects on islet cell regeneration, increased functional β cells, and insulin sensitivity.
Discussion and conclusion: Lactobacillus has the best glucose-lowering effect, but FMT has obvious advantages in β-cell regeneration, which provides new treatment ideas for tissue damage caused by T2DM.
Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus; microbiota transplantation; regeneration; β cells.