Intestinal Barrier Function – a Novel Target to modulate Diet-induced Metabolic Diseases

61 High fat high cholesterol containing Western-type diet (WD)-induced obesity remains one of the major causes for the development of metabolic syndrome and associated metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) and atherosclerosis (that leads to cardiovascular diseases including heart disease and stroke). In addition to changes in lipid metabolism and excessive lipid accumulation, recent studies have also described direct effects of WD on gut microbiome and attributed dysbiosis of gut flora to the observed metabolic effects. However, strong association between circulating gut bacteria-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and metabolic diseases (such as T2DM and atherosclerosis) has shifted the focus from WD-induced changes in gut microbiota per se to release of gut bacteria-derived products (e.g., LPS) into circulation as the possible mechanism for the chronic inflammatory state underlying the development of these diseases.