Akkermansia muciniphila: a deworming partner independent of type 2 immunity

ABSTRACT

The gut microbiota has coevolved with the host for hundreds of millions of years, playing a beneficial role in host health. Human parasitic helminths are widespread and pose a pervasive global public health issue. Although Type 2 immunity provides partial resistance to helminth infections, the composition of the gut microbiota can change correspondingly. Therefore, it raises the question of what role the gut microbiota plays during helminth infection. Akkermansia muciniphila has emerged as a notable representative of beneficial microorganisms in the gut microbiota. Recent studies indicate that A. muciniphila is not merely associated with helminth infection but is also causally linked to infection. Here, we provide an overview of the crosstalk between A. muciniphila and enteric helminth infection. Our goal is to enhance our understanding of the interplay among A. muciniphila, helminths, and their hosts while also exploring the potential underlying mechanisms.

KEYWORDS:

• Akkermansia muciniphila
• gut microbiota
• helminth
• Trichinella spiralis
• immunity

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Mingyuan Liu and Dr. Xiaolei Liu at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University for preparing the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

JW, XZ, XL and XJ performed the literature review and wrote the manuscript. XL and XJ revised the manuscript. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability statement

All data are included in the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by The National Key Research and Development Program of China [2021YFC2600202]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [82201959, 32230104].