In mice, a drug that appears to target specific intestinal bacteria in the guts may create a chain reaction that could eventually lead to new treatments for obesity and diabetes in humans.

"The two interesting findings are that the mice that received tempol didn't gain as much weight and the tempol somehow impacted the gut microbiome of these mice," said Patterson. "Eventually, we hope that this can lead to a new line of therapeutics to treat obesity and diabetes."The microbiome is the biological environment of microorganisms within the human body.
The researchers, who reported their findings in the current issue of Nature Communications, said that tempol reduces some members of a bacteria -- a genus of Lactobacillus -- in the guts of mice. When the Lactobacillus levels decreases, a bile acid -- tauro-beta-muricholic acid -- increases.
This inhibits FXR -- farnesoid X receptor, which regulates the metabolism of bile acids, fats and glucose in the body, according to the researchers."The study suggests that inhibiting FXR in the intestine might be a potential target for anti-obesity drugs," said Gonzalez.
The researchers said that tempol may help treat type 2 diabetes symptoms.
Source-Eurekalert