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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Jun 15, 2021; 12(6): 730-744
Published online Jun 15, 2021. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v12.i6.730
Mechanisms linking gut microbial metabolites to insulin resistance
Hye Rim Jang, Hui-Young Lee
Hye Rim Jang, Hui-Young Lee, Laboratory of Mitochondrial and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, GAIHST, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, South Korea
Hui-Young Lee, Korea Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, South Korea
Hui-Young Lee, Division of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon 21936, South Korea
Author contributions: Jang HR and Lee HY wrote the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by National Research Foundation Funded by the Korean Ministry of Science, No. NRF-2018M3A9F3056405 and No. NRF-2020R1A2B5B01002789.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui-Young Lee, DVM, PhD, Associate Professor, Laboratory of Mitochondrial and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, GAIHST, Gachon University, 155, Gaetbeol-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21999, South Korea. hylee@gachon.ac.kr
Received: February 10, 2021
Peer-review started: February 10, 2021
First decision: March 8, 2021
Revised: March 23, 2021
Accepted: May 20, 2021
Article in press: May 20, 2021
Published online: June 15, 2021
Processing time: 114 Days and 11.7 Hours
Abstract

Insulin resistance is the rate-limiting step in the development of metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. The gut microbiota has been implicated in host energy metabolism and metabolic diseases and is recognized as a quantitatively important organelle in host metabolism, as the human gut harbors 10 trillion bacterial cells. Gut microbiota break down various nutrients and produce metabolites that play fundamental roles in host metabolism and aid in the identification of possible therapeutic targets for metabolic diseases. Therefore, understanding the various effects of bacterial metabolites in the development of insulin resistance is critical. Here, we review the mechanisms linking gut microbial metabolites to insulin resistance in various insulin-responsive tissues.

Keywords: Insulin resistance; Skeletal muscle; Liver; Adipose tissue; Intestine; Gut bacterial metabolites

Core Tip: Since the gut microbiota has been implicated in host energy metabolism and metabolic diseases, understanding mechanisms linked to insulin resistance is a first step in discovery of new drugs and novel targets against metabolic diseases. Here, we review the mechanisms linking gut microbial metabolites to insulin resistance in major target tissues of insulin.