Akkermansia muciniphila plays critical roles in host health

Abstract

Akkermansia muciniphila, an intestinal microorganism, belongs to Verrucomicrobia, one of the most abundant microorganisms in the mammalian gut. It is a mucin-degrading bacterium that can colonise intestines of mammals such as humans and mice by utilising mucin as the only nitrogen and carbon source. When A. muciniphila colonises the intestine, its metabolites interact with the intestinal barrier, affecting host health by consolidating the intestinal barrier, regulating metabolic functions of the intestinal and circulatory systems, and regulating immune functions. This review summarised the mechanisms of A. muciniphila-host interactions that are relevant to host health. We focussed on characteristics of A. muciniphila in relation to its metabolites to provide a comprehensive understanding of A. muciniphila and its effects on host health and disease processes.

Keywords:

• Akkermansia muciniphila
• mucin
• intestinal barrier
• immune function
• intestinal microbiota

Acknowledgement

We thank my best friend Shangwei Xu who is an illustrator for his exquisite Figure 1.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [31271483, 81472650, 81673061, 81573050, 31872739 and 81703132], the National Science and Technology Major Project [2018ZX09733001-001-006 and 2019ZX09201003-003], the Sichuan Provincial Outstanding Youth Fund [2015JQ0025].