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MICROBIOME

Bacteria to alleviate metabolic syndrome

Nature Medicine volume 25, pages 1031–1033 (2019)Cite this article

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Heat-inactivated Akkermansia muciniphila helps alleviate features of metabolic syndrome in overweight and obese subjects.

The gut microbiota is known to modify metabolic health in humans1. However, currently there are no bacterial strains that have been proven to impact markers of human cardiometabolic disease to a degree of reliability and efficacy that would encourage development of a microbial treatment for this condition. Akkermansia muciniphila stands out as a promising ‘next-generation’ probiotic since its fecal abundance has been positively correlated with leanness in mice and humans2. Furthermore, both pharmacological and surgical approaches with proven benefits in individuals with metabolic syndrome have been linked to augmented relative abundance of intestinal A. muciniphila3,4. Oral administration of live A. muciniphila to diet-induced obese (DIO) mice improves insulin sensitivity and lowers proinflammatory bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the circulation5,6. Systemic low-level elevation of gut-derived LPS—often termed metabolic endotoxemia—has been shown to contribute to the onset and progression of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome7. It was unknown, until now, whether A. muciniphila would influence certain aspects of metabolic syndrome in obese humans. In this issue of Nature Medicine, Depommier et al.8 report, along with a demonstration of safety of A. muciniphila as a human therapy, preliminary evidence that A. muciniphila can curb key aspects of metabolic syndrome in obese and overweight individuals.

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Fig. 1: Mild heat inactivation of Akkermansia muciniphila improves metabolic benefits in obese and overweight human subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute and Centre for Metabolism, Obesity, and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Fernando F. Anhê & Jonathan D. Schertzer

  2. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cardiology Axis of the Québec Heart and Lung Institute and Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Laval University, Québec City, Quebec, Canada

    André Marette

Authors
  1. Fernando F. Anhê
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  2. Jonathan D. Schertzer
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  3. André Marette
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Correspondence to André Marette.

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Anhê, F.F., Schertzer, J.D. & Marette, A. Bacteria to alleviate metabolic syndrome. Nat Med 25, 1031–1033 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0516-1

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