Gut Microbiome Research: Akkermansia Muciniphilia Probiotic Overview

The gut microbiome is a hot topic of conversation in the health realm the last few years. The gut flora plays a role in more of the functioning body than we first imagined; helping with digestion and absorption, energy generation, vitamin synthesis, and immune regulation, but we have now found it also has a hand in regulating the central nervous system, physiological functions of the brain and risk and prevention of some diseases.

Current research has looked into the bacteria Akkermansia muciniphilia or A. muciniphilia. This bacteria is naturally found in the digestive tract as well as breast milk of humans, but in varying amounts. A. muciniphilia is being talked about for it's potential role in weight loss, reducing lipid levels, and more. This bacteria is a part of the family of bacteria that breaks down a protein called mucin that is secreted by the lining of the gut and is used to make mucus. A. muciniphilia is an important player in maintaining mucin homeostasis that helps keep the gut functioning as it should.

Researchers have started looking into how the amount of A. muciniphilia impacts various diseases and health states. The research is still new and developing, but in general they have found that in most diseases higher amounts of A. muciniphilia decreases the risk of disease. The exceptions they have found, in which higher amounts of A. muciniphilia may actually worsen disease, are multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's Disease, necrotizing pancreatitis, and infantile eczema.

Breaking it down by Disease-

They found that people with increased BMI and waist circumference had low amounts of A. muciniphilia, however they have not yet been able to show that increasing A. muciniphilia will result in weight loss. They did find that supplementation of A. muciniphilia caused increased insulin sensitivity and reduced triglyceride levels. They believe this could be related to a protein that is secreted by A. muciniphilia, P9, that increases GLP-1 secretion as well as decreases carbohydrate absorption by decreasing glucose transporters (like GLUT2 and SGLT1). These effects combined allow for better glucose control that can reduce the risk of diabetes development as well as improve management in those already diagnosed.

Cardiovascular disease risk also seems to be positively impacted by A. muciniphilia. It has been shown that this gut bacteria promotes the removal of triglycerides, fatty acids, and cholesterol by increasing the number of receptors there are for LDL.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming more prevalent in the US as people eat more and more sugar. They did find that NAFLD was positively impacted by A. muciniphilia. The probiotic helps to regulate genes related to fat synthesis and inflammatory factors which helps to prevent NAFLD. A. muciniphilia actually seems to help with regulating liver labs such as AST, ALT, total cholesterol, and triglycerides which helps with overall liver and heart health.

A. muciniphilia decreases corticosterone and increased dopamine which can help improve symptoms of depression. It also helps with repairing the gut barrier that is damaged with depression related colitis. The inflammatory response to gut injuries such as colitis and other inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is reduced by inhibiting apoptosis (the removal of damaged cells) which is dysregulated in IBD. It was found that only certain strains of A. muciniphilia had this positive impact on colitis, some strains actually made symptoms worse so it is important to be sure you are getting the proper strains from reputable and well tested sources.

There is even more research looking at musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis and even fractures, respiratory disease such as asthma, and other diseases like periodontitis, and general aging. The research is still relatively new, but is looking promising for many different diseases and health concerns. A. muciniphilia probiotic supplements were confirmed to be safe by studies conducted with humans in 2019.

Resources:

Xue C, Li G, Gu X, Su Y, Zheng Q, Yuan X, Bao Z, Lu J, Li L. Health and Disease: Akkermansia muciniphila, the Shining Star of the Gut Flora. Research (Wash D C). 2023;6:0107. doi: 10.34133/research.0107. Epub 2023 Apr 3. PMID: 37040299; PMCID: PMC10079265.