Study: Maintaining the Enzyme ACE2 in the Gut May Prevent Diabetic Blindness

A new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that the progressive damage to blood vessels in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye may be due to a leaky small intestine that weakens the barrier between gut bacteria and the blood system. The study published in the journal Circulation Research. 

Blood from human subjects with Type 1 diabetes and a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes were used to explore mechanisms underlying diabetic retinopathy. The results show a way to possibly prevent, or even reverse, the eye damage.

Using the Akita mouse-Type 1 diabetes model, researchers gave the ACE2-producing Lactobacillus paracasei to the mice orally beginning at the onset of diabetes. This probiotic treatment prevented the loss of gut epithelial ACE2 typically seen in Akita mice, and importantly, it prevented intestinal epithelial and endothelial barrier damage. It also reduced the high blood sugar levels known as hyperglycemia. 

The researchers also found evidence for several mechanisms that contributed to the ACE2-reduced gut barrier damage and ACE2-lowering of blood sugar.

Read the full UAB article here.