From an epidemiological point of view, the pathological conditions related to overweight and obesity are constantly increasing in all geographical areas, with socio-economic repercussions terms of mortality related to diseases such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D)
[1,2][1][2]. In particular, so-called acquired diabetes mellitus or T2D originates in the persistence of high daily glucose levels compared to normal values, due to the resistance of the target tissues to the effect of insulin
[3,4][3][4]. The pathogenesis of polyfactorial diabetes depends on the mechanisms that determine peripheral insulin resistance, as well as on the distribution of body fat, particularly central body fat, which is correlated more strongly with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) as it actively enters glucose homeostasis, the progressive dysfunction of the pancreatic beta cells
[5,6][5][6]. Furthermore, there are connections between the metabolic alterations between pancreatic function and hepatic function that are not fully understood, as well as the mechanisms that determine insulin resistance in other peripheral tissues, including skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. The complexity of this relationship between the various organs united by their sensitivity to insulin should favor correct glucose metabolism
[7]. From a pathological point of view, however, the first phases of the development of D2T are linked to gradual and progressive insulin resistance, and occur in parallel with the hyperfunction of the pancreatic beta cells, which, in an attempt to compensate for the reduction in the effect of insulin on peripheral tissues, increases their production. Subsequently, however, with the loss of the insulin reserve, the individual reaches the stage of full-blown diabetes and, therefore, a greater risk of organ damage
[8,9][8][9]. Diabetes, however, should not be considered only a metabolic condition with a relative loss of insulin function; it largely owes its genesis to a low-grade local chronic inflammatory state (meta-inflammation), which is linked to the production and release of multiple inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukins and tumor necrosis factor
[10]. Many inflammatory markers have been related to obesity and a large study demonstrated the existence of a link between body composition and systemic inflammatory markers
[11]. Other studies have supported similar claims regarding the erythrocyte sedimentation rate
[12], plasminogen-activator inhibitor 1
[13], and some inflammatory cytokines
[14[14][15],
15], reinforcing the role of the interaction between inflammation and glucose metabolism. It remains to be established how meta-inflammation influences glucose metabolism and, recently, the answer was complicated by the knowledge obtained from the study of the functions of the human intestinal microbiota. The intestinal microbiota has a symbiotic relationship with the host by acting as a driver of inflammation by mediating the absorption of certain nutrients, which then contributes to metabolic pathologies
[16,17][16][17]. Evidence of this role of the intestinal microbiota is contained in several studies in which obesity and T2D are associated with alterations in the intestinal microbiota
[18,19,20][18][19][20]. At the intestinal level, the microbiota produces a series of metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), increases the biosynthesis of vitamins and amino acids, and participates in the turnover of bile acids, as well as cell–cell interaction with the other components of the host
[21]. Therefore, the balance in the cellular composition of the intestinal microbiota plays an important role in the host’s metabolism and the development of insulin resistance and T2D obesity (
Figure 1); on the other hand, the relationships with the main cells of the immune system also change, at the level of the intestinal wall.