Abstract

Background Type 2 diabetes, as the most prevalent metabolic disorder, is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Recent studies showed a significant association between intestinal microbiota and type 2 diabetes. These studies have shared evidences that alteration in the composition of intestinal microbiota can disrupt the balance of the host homeostasis and lead to metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes. In the present study, we compared the intestinal microbiota composition in three groups of type 2 diabetes patients, pre-diabetic patients and healthy individuals of Iranian population. Methods After obtaining informed consent, stool samples were collected from 90 individuals of three studied groups. The DNA was extracted using column-based method. Intestinal microbiota composition was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR using specific bacterial 16S rRNA primers. The difference of bacterial load was compared between three groups. Results The prevalence ofAkkermansia muciniphilaandBifidobacteriaspecies in healthy group was higher than type 2 diabetes group (P Value0.006 and 0.001, respectively). In contrast, the load ofLactobacillus(P Value0.044),Escherichia coli(P Value0.005), andBacteroides fragilis(P Value0.017) in type 2 diabetes group, and the frequency ofE. coli(P Value0.001) andBacteroides fragilis(P Value0.004) in pre-diabetic group was significantly higher than healthy group. Moreover, the frequency ofFaecalibacterium prausnitziiin healthy group was significantly higher compared to two other groups (P Value0.005). Conclusion There is a correlation between intestinal microbiota composition and type 2 diabetes. Determination and restoration of this microbiota composition pattern may have a possible role in prevention and control of type 2 diabetes in a certain population.