[Diabetes mellitus and the intestinal microbiome].

The intestinal microbiome plays an important role in the body's physiological processes. One of its most decisive roles is the production of short-chain fatty acids, which has crucial importance in the maintenance of an intact intestinal barrier and immune homeostasis. Dysbiosis in the microbiome caused by dietary habits, regular medication use, and other factors can result in damage to the barrier function, which triggers the translocation of lipopolysaccharides into the portal circulation. By maintaining subclinical inflammation, these can lead to the development of obesity, insulin resistance, and fatty liver. The entry of pathogenic bacteria into the portal circulation can cause beta cell destruction through molecular mimicry and consequent autoimmunity. Both mechanisms can lead to diabetes mellitus. The paper reviews the changes in the intestinal microbiome in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, detailing experimental and clinical data. It points out that even though our knowledge is not yet sufficient to help daily clinical practice, the expansion of data can help the prognostic use of some results. All this, however, requires further investigations and observations. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(25): 981-987.