Abstract
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been linked with increased intestinal permeability, but the clinical significance of this phenomenon is unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential link between glucose control, intestinal permeability, diet and intestinal microbiota in patients with T2D. Thirty-two males with well-controlled T2D and 30 age-matched male controls without diabetes were enrolled in a case-control study. Metabolic parameters, inflammatory markers, endotoxaemia and intestinal microbiota in individuals subdivided into high (HP) and normal (LP) colonic permeability groups, were the main outcomes. In T2D, the HP group had significantly higher fasting glucose (P = 40 0.034) and plasma non-esterified fatty acid levels (P = 0.05) compared with the LP group. Increased colonic permeability was also linked with altered abundances of selected microbial taxa. The microbiota of both T2D and control HP groups was enriched with Enterobacteriales. In conclusion, high intestinal permeability was associated with poorer fasting glucose control in T2D patients and changes in some microbial taxa in both T2D patients and non-diabetic controls. Therefore, enrichment in the gram- negative order Enterobacteriales may characterise impaired colonic permeability prior to/independently from a disruption in glucose tolerance.