Multi-omics: Opportunities for research on mechanism of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a burdensome global disease. In-depth understanding of its mechanism will help to optimize diagnosis and treatment, which reduces the burden. Multi-omics research has unparalleled advantages in contributing to the overall understanding of the mechanism of this chronic metabolic disease. In the past two decades, the study of multi-omics on T2DM-related intestinal flora perturbation and plasma dyslipidemia has shown tremendous potential and is expected to achieve major breakthroughs. The regulation of intestinal flora in diabetic patients has been confirmed by multiple studies. The use of metagenomics, 16S RNA sequencing, and metabolomics has comprehensively identified the overall changes in the intestinal flora and the metabolic disturbances that could directly or indirectly participate in the intestinal flora-host interactions. Lipidomics combined with other “omics” has characterized lipid metabolism disorders in T2DM. The combined application and cross-validation of multi-omics can screen for dysregulation in T2DM, which will provide immense opportunities to understand the mechanisms behind T2DM.