Gut bacteria Akkermansia is associated with reduced risk of obesity: evidence from the American Gut Project

Abstract

Background Gut bacteria Akkermansia has been shown an anti-obesity protective effect in previous studies and may be used as promising probiotics. However, the above effect may be confounded by common factors, such as sex, age and diets, which should be verified in a generalized population. Methods We used datasets from the American Gut Project to strictly reassess the association and further examined the effect of aging on it. A total of 10,534 participants aged 20 to 99 years from the United States and the United Kingdom were included. The relative abundance of Akkermansia was assessed based on 16S rRNA sequencing data. Obesity (body mass index, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) risks were compared across Akkermansia quintiles in logistic models with adjustment for common confounders. Restricted cubic splines were used to examine dose response effects between Akkermansia, obesity and age. A sliding-windows-based algorithm was used to investigate the effect of aging on Akkermansia-obesity associations. Results The median abundance of Akkermansia was 0.08% (interquartile range: 0.006–0.93%), and the prevalence of obesity was 11.03%. Nonlinear association was detected between Akkermansia and obesity risk (P = 0.01). The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for obesity across the increasing Akkermansia quintiles (referencing to the first quintile) were 1.14 (0.94–1.39), 0.94 (0.77–1.15), 0.70 (0.56–0.85) and 0.79 (0.64–0.96) after adjusting for age and sex (P for trend < 0.001). This association remained unchanged after further controlling for smoking, alcohol drinking, diet, and country. The odds ratios (95% CI) of Akkermansia were 0.19 (0.03–0.62) and 0.77 (0.64–0.91) before and over 40 years, respectively, indicating that the protective effect of Akkermansia against obesity was not stable with aging. Conclusion High relative abundance of Akkermansia is associated with low risk of obesity and the association declines with aging.

Soluble Fiber Inulin Consumption Limits Alterations of the Gut Microbiota and Hepatic Fatty Acid Metabolism Caused by High-Fat Diet

“…Among numerous microbiota alterations, taxonomic analysis demonstrated a decrease in Akkermansia muciniphila induced by HFD when compared with LFD, as previously described [ 25 , 40 , 41 ]. Such reduction in A. muciniphila abundance has also been reported in patients with metabolic disorders [ 67 , 68 ], while supplementation with A. muciniphila has been shown to improve metabolic parameters of overweight and obese patients [ 69 ]. Interestingly, our data identified that inulin supplementation was not sufficient to prevent HFD-induced loss of A. muciniphila.…”

Altered Gut Microbiota and Its Metabolites in Hypertension of Developmental Origins: Exploring Differences between Fructose and Antibiotics Exposure

“…Interestingly, minocycline and HF intake individually caused a trend for an increased abundance of genus Akkermansia , with both of them together having the largest effect. Since minocycline treatment augmented the Akkermansia abundance and attenuated HF-induced obesity and Akkermansia plays a decisive role in reducing the risk of obesity [ 29 ], additional study is warranted to clarify whether the protective effect of minocycline on obesity is directly attributed to its regulation on the Akkermansia .…”

Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity among Human Isolates of Akkermansia muciniphila

“…Akkermansia muciniphila is a Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium of the phylum Verrucomicrobia that can use GI mucins as a sole carbon and nitrogen source (6,7). A. muciniphila has attracted considerable attention because an increased abundance of Akkermansia in the GI tract correlates with many positive human health outcomes, including protection from obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disease (8)(9)(10)(11). Indeed, lean individuals show an increased representation of Verrucomicrobia in their fecal microbiomes as assessed by 16S rRNA gene profiling (9).…”