Risk of diabetes can be detected in infants

“This is the first time anyone has mapped how these bile acids change during the first years of life,” says Professor Matej Orešič at Örebro University and the University of Turku, who led the study.

The study suggests that a greater risk of developing autoimmunity could be associated with an imbalance in the gut.

“Our research highlights how microbially modified bile acids can influence immune system development during infancy. These molecules vary with age, are closely associated with specific gut microbes, and regulate immune responses and inflammation. This may help explain why disruptions in early microbiome development are linked to a higher risk of autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes,” explains Matej Orešič.

Limited knowledge of ‘new’ bile acids

The study examined samples from children aged between 3 months and 3 years. The children in the study had a genetic risk of type 1 diabetes, and the researchers tracked over 100 different bile acids. These microbially conjugated bile acids have only recently been identified, and understanding of them is still limited.

Bile acids help the body break down fats and play vital roles in controlling blood sugar and cholesterol – essential aspects of the body’s metabolism. Only recently have researchers discovered that gut bacteria can produce a wide variety of new bile acid structures. These molecules created by microbes were largely ignored in the past because they’re so difficult to detect.

Since type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s own cells, the researchers investigated whether these newly identified bile acids could affect key immune cells in young children, including monocytes, regulatory T cells, and proinflammatory T-helper 17 (Th17) cells.

Earlier detection and development of treatment

The findings indicated that these microbially derived bile acids influence immune cells responsible for regulating inflammation and immune balance. This suggests that these gut-derived metabolites may contribute to determining a child’s risk of developing autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.

The results reveal a previously unknown layer of communication between the microbiome and the immune system during a crucial phase of childhood when the immune system is still developing.

More research is needed, but the findings suggest that these gut-derived molecules could assist in identifying children at higher risk – and the knowledge may even help in developing treatments that promote healthier immune development.