Urine Bile Acids Relate to Glucose Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and a Body Mass Index Below 30 kg/m(2)

Bile acids are important endocrine signalling molecules, modulating glucose homeostasis through activation of cell surface and nuclear receptors. Bile acid metabolism is altered in type 2 diabetes mellitus; however, whether this is of pathogenic consequence is not fully established. In this study urinary bile acid excretion in individuals with type 2 diabetes and matched healthy volunteers was assessed. Urinary bile acid excretion in type 2 diabetes patients was considered in the context of prevailing glycaemia and the patient body mass index. Urine bile acids were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, allowing individual quantification of 15 bile acid species. Urinary bile acid excretion in patients with type 2 diabetes who were normal weight (BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m(2)) and overweight (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m(2)) were elevated compared to healthy normal weight volunteers, both p<0.0001. In obese (BMI≥30 kg/m(2)) type 2 diabetes patients, urinary bile acid excretion was significantly lower than in the normal and overweight type 2 diabetes groups (both p<0.01). Total bile acid excretion positively correlated with HbA1c in normal (rs = 0.85, p = <0.001) and overweight (rs = 0.61, p = 0.02) but not obese type 2 diabetes patients (rs = −0.08, p = 0.73). The glycaemia-associated increases in urine bile acid excretion in normal weight and overweight type 2 diabetes seen in this study may represent compensatory increases in bile acid signalling to maintain glucose homeostasis. As such alterations appear blunted by obesity; further investigation of weight-dependent effects of bile acid signalling on type 2 diabetes pathogenesis is warranted.