Improvements to postprandial glucose control in subjects with type 2 diabetes: a multicenter, double blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial of a novel probiotic formulation.

A growing body of evidence suggests that specific, naturally occurring gut bacteria are under-represented in the intestinal tracts of subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and that their functions, like gut barrier stability and butyrate production, are important to glucose and insulin homeostasis. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that enteral exposure to microbes with these proposed functions can safely improve clinical measures of glycemic control and thereby play a role in the overall dietary management of diabetes. We evaluated whether a probiotic comprised of these anaerobic bacteria would enhance dietary management by (1) manufacturing two novel probiotic formulations containing three (WBF-010) or five (WBF-011) distinct strains in a Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facility, (2) establishing consistent live-cell concentrations, (3) confirming safety at target concentrations dispensed in both animal and human studies and (4) conducting a 12-week parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept study in which subjects previously diagnosed with T2D (n=76) were randomly assigned to a two times a day regimen of placebo, WBF-010 or WBF-011. No safety or tolerability issues were observed. Compared with the placebo group, subjects administered WBF-011 (which contains inulin, To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial to administer four of the five strains to human subjects with T2D. This proof-of-concept study (clinical trial number NCT03893422) shows that the intervention was safe and well tolerated and that supplementation with WBF-011 improves postprandial glucose control. The limited sample size and intersubject variability justifies future studies designed to confirm and expand on these observations.

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Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Competing interests: All authors are employees and stock/stock option shareholders of Pendulum Therapeutics, Inc (formerly known as ‘Whole Biome Inc.’). OK owns stock in GlySens, Inc, has stock options in ViaCyte, Inc, and is a consultant to NuSirt BioPharma, Circius, and NanoPrecision Medical.