Akkermansia muciniphila (ack-er-man-see-a muse-in-eh-fee-la) is a type of bacteria that is gaining prominence in health and supplement areas. We’ll call it akkermansia from now on. Once you get the hang of pronouncing it, it’s fun to say!

Akkermansia is a hard-working bacteria and so far has only been found to have commensal or helpful properties. A commensal bacteria is one that neither harms nor helps us, but is generally considered neutral on its own. In other words, no situation has been identified yet where akkermansia can be harmful. However, this bacteria was only discovered in 2004.

This bacteria helps us by helping itself. 

Muciniphila means mucin-loving. This bacteria lives off of the mucosal lining of our gut- a layer of mucin that protects our one-cell-wall-thick intestinal lining. That sounds bad for us, right? Thankfully it works for us too, since akkermansia can release a chemical signal to our body to amp up mucin production. As far as we know, this cycle works well for both of us. Akkermansia also colonizes areas of our intestinal lining, leaving less or no room for other invaders that might be harmful. This double whammy approach provides us with a reinforced gut lining, which helps prevent microbes and other substances from entering our bloodstream via tiny capillaries in our gut lining, and then crossing the blood-brain barrier or disturbing other areas of our body.

The intestinal barrier, beefed up by akkermansia, is particularly important when preventing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from entering the bloodstream. LPS is a coating naturally found on bacteria, but when this enters our bloodstream, it’s treated as a toxin. It is not supposed to leave our gut.  LPS in our bloodstream triggers an inflammatory response in our fat cells, causing them to overfill and stop creating new fat cells. Phagocytes, a type of immune cell, fill the adipose fat cells, leading to inflammation and obesity, even when the fat cells aren’t truly filled with fat. Akkermansia is commonly referred to as a strong protection from LPS sneaking past our gut lining.  

Propionic acid and butyric acid are the main byproducts of Akkermansia in our gut, and these can affect the actions of hundreds of human genes- primarily those related to the immune system and intestinal cells. Therefore akkermansia is a busy bacteria, modulating up our mucosal lining, crowding out  harmful bacteria, and sending signals that overall, assist our immune system.

How to support your akkermansia population

Are you pumped to support your akkermansia yet? This bacteria is not yet available as a probiotic product to consume, but we can support its growth in other ways. You are likely to have akkermansia in your gut right now, so the goal would be to foster its growth.  

The results from studies of akkermansia are incredibly promising. This bacteria has been linked to leanness, shown to reinforce the gut lining, help prevent pathogenic bacteria, and regulate glucose and lipid metabolism. An absence or lack of akkermansia is associated with metabolic disorders and inflammatory diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Due to the many correlations between wellness and akkermansia levels, future lab reports may measure your levels of this fascinating bacteria. 

TLDR: Akkermansia muciniphila is a bacteria that feeds on the mucous lining of our intestines, but also helps reinforce that layer. It has been repeatedly linked to leanness. The renewed mucous layer helps to strengthen our gut lining and prevent foreign substances like LPS to enter our bloodstream and wreak havoc. 

Sources and other info:

Collen, A. (2015). 10% Human: How your body’s microbes hold the key to health and happiness. HarperCollins.

Kates, A. E., Jarrett, O., Skarlupka, J. H., Sethi, A., Duster, M., Watson, L., Suen, G., Poulsen, K., & Safdar, N. (2020). Household Pet Ownership and the Microbial Diversity of the Human Gut Microbiota. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 10, 73.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7058978/pdf/fcimb-10-00073.pdf

Naito, Y., Uchiyama, K., & Takagi, T. (2018). A next-generation beneficial microbe: Akkermansia muciniphila. Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition, 63(1), 33–35. https://doi.org/10.3164/jcbn.18-57 

Zhang, T., Li, Q., Cheng, L., Buch, H., & Zhang, F. (2019). Akkermansia muciniphila is a promising probiotic. Microbial Biotechnology 12(6), 1109-1125. https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1751-7915.13410 

Zhou K. (2017). Strategies to promote abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, an emerging probiotics in the gut, evidence from dietary intervention studies. Journal of functional foods, 33, 194–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2017.03.045