Akkermansia muciniphila is a mucin-degrading bacterium commonly found in human gut. Mucins are glycoprotein components of the mucous that coats the surfaces of cells lining the respiratory, digestive, and urogenital tracts. Increased mucin production occurs in many cancers (pancreas, lung, breast, ovary, colon and other tissues). Mucins are also over-expressed in lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cystic fibrosis.
Akkermansia muciniphila has been reported as a beneficial bacterium that reduces gut barrier disruption and insulin resistance.
Studies have identified a loss in abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Akkermansia muciniphila has been inversely associated with:
– obesity
– diabetes
– inflammation, and
– metabolic disorders.
Due to its highly promising probiotic activities against obesity and diabetes, Akkermansia muciniphila drawn intensive interest for research and development in recent years. A number of human and animal studies have shown that the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila in the gut can be enhanced through dietary interventions.
Akkermansia muciniphila may represent 3–5% of the microbial composition in the healthy human intestinal tract, and have a crucial role in the regulation of the gut barrier and other homeostatic and metabolic functions.
Lower levels:
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Akkermansia muciniphila is considered to be the most abundant mucus degrading bacteria in a healthy individual.
– A low concentration of Akkermansia muciniphila in your gut could indicate a thin mucous layer, thereby resulting in a weakened gut barrier function, besides increased translocation of bacterial toxins.
– People suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), obesity and Type II diabetes (T2D) tend to have lower concentrations of Akkermansia muciniphila.
– Akkermansia muciniphila concentration is also known to decrease with age.
References:
– Akkermansia muciniphila-derived extracellular vesicles influence gut permeability through the regulation of tight junctions, https://www.nature.com/articles/emm2017282
– Derrien M, Vaughan EE, Plugge CM, de Vos WM. Akkermansia muciniphila gen. nov., sp. nov., a human intestinal mucin-degrading bacterium. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2004; 54: 1469–1476.
– Strategies to promote abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, an emerging probiotics in the gut, evidence from dietary intervention studies, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464617301627
– Mucins in cancer: function, prognosis and therapy, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951677/
– Specific gut microbiota features and metabolic markers in postmenopausal women with obesity, http://doi.org/10.1038/nutd.2015.9
– Akkermansia muciniphila and its role in regulating host functions, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882401015301789
