Distinct gut microbiota and metabolome features of tissue-specific insulin resistance in overweight and obesity

Abstract

Insulin resistance (IR) is an early marker of cardiometabolic deterioration which may develop heterogeneously in key metabolic organs, including the liver (LIR) and skeletal muscle (MIR). This tissue-specific IR is characterized by distinct metabolic signatures, but the role of the gut microbiota in its etiology remains unclear. Here, we profiled the gut microbiota, its metabolites and the plasma metabolome in individuals with either a LIR or MIR phenotype (n = 233). We observed distinct microbial community structures LIR and MIR, and higher short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing bacteria, fecal SCFAs and branched-chain fatty acids and a higher postprandial plasma glucagon-like-peptide-1 response in LIR. In addition, we found variations in metabolome profiles and phenotype-specific associations between microbial taxa and functional metabolite groups. Overall, our study highlights association between gut microbiota and its metabolites composition with IR heterogeneity that can be targeted in precision-based strategies to improve cardiometabolic health. Clinicaltrials.gov registration: NCT03708419.