Research

Hormonal

In Type 2 Diabetes patients, increased plasma Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels are significantly correlated with the abundance of Gram-negative gut bacteria, specifically Prevotella copri and Bacteroides vulgatus, suggesting these microbes drive systemic inflammation and insulin resistance.

This research highlights that in Type 2 Diabetes, high levels of specific gut bacteria (Prevotella and Bacteroides) are linked to higher inflammation (IL-6) and insulin resistance. While this paper does not prescribe a treatment, it suggests that managing gut health through diet may be a relevant factor in addressing the inflammatory component of diabetes, alongside standard medical care.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The proinflammatory interleukin-6 (IL-6) was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in patients’ plasma... We find correlations between the proinflammatory interferon-gamma with Gram-negatives Bacteroides and Prevotella species, and a positive correlation between the LPS levels and P. copri reads... we suggested that the prevalence of Gram-negative species in the gut and the increased plasma IL-6 in patients could be linked to low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance.
Aline Zazeri Leite et al. · Frontiers in Immunology · 2017

Why this rating

Small sample size (n=20 patients, n=22 controls) and observational design limit causal inference, though statistical significance is reported.

Source

Detection of Increased Plasma Interleukin-6 Levels and Prevalence of Prevotella copri and Bacteroides vulgatus in the Feces of Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Aline Zazeri Leite et al. · Frontiers in Immunology · 2017

DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01107

cross_sectional · n=42Cited 193×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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