What is Akkermansia Muciniphila?

Akkermansia muciniphila is a bacterium that naturally occurs in the intestines. Akkermansia Muciniphila MucT was first isolated from human feces in 2004 in the laboratory of Professor Willem M. de Vos at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. This anaerobic bacterium belongs to the phylum Verrucomicrobia and is considered a commensal bacterium, meaning that it naturally occurs in significant quantities in the human gastrointestinal tract, representing 0.5 and 5% of all intestinal bacteria. A lot of research has been done on Akkermansia Muciniphila, and it has been shown that pasteurized, the bacterium is many times more effective than the living variant. For this reason, The Akkermansia Company © exclusively uses this.

A striking feature of Akkermansia Muciniphila is its ability to live in and utilize mucus. The bacterium possesses various specific enzymes for breaking down mucus, so it is not dependent on nutrients for its diet. This gives Akkermansia Muciniphila a competitive advantage over bacteria that are dependent on fibers and other food particles. The special properties of Akkermansia Muciniphila explain its specific habitat: the bacterium is located in the mucus layer covering the intestinal epithelium, which allows it to have close contact with the body cells and to communicate with them.

Akkermansia Muciniphila acts as a guardian of the barrier function of the intestine. Although it uses mucin as its own nutritional source and is sometimes considered a “mucin-degrading” bacterium, A. Muciniphila may be involved in a positive feedback loop. This loop stimulates mucin production through mucin breakdown, resulting in mucus layer renewal. In a healthy human gut, these bacteria maintain the production and thickness of mucus, which is important for intestinal health.

Because Akkermansia Muciniphila provides nutrients to other intestinal bacteria, it is considered a key species often associated with good intestinal barrier function.

Amuc_1100, a protein with an important effect

A. muciniphila produces many proteins on its outer layer, including the protein Amuc_1100. This protein is present in large quantities and plays a role in the formation of pili. Via Amuc_1100 the bacterium can communicate with the toll-like receptor 2. This receptor is important for the development and regulation of the mucous membrane in the intestines.

Amuc_1100 remains stable after pasteurization (but not after sterilization), so it can still serve as a signal. Furthermore, it is thought that pasteurization may improve the effects of A. muciniphila by increasing the accessibility of this protein to the host.

Research into Akkermansia muciniphila

Preclinical
Research has shown that daily intake of pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila in mouse models is very effective. Here, different markers were compared with each other. Due to claims not yet authorized, we at Kala Health cannot release details about the study. We can explain that, when live Akkermansia muciniphila grown on mucus soil, and live Akkermansia muciniphila grown on synthetic nutrient soil, were compared with pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila, the pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila showed significantly better effects than the live variant (see arrow). As shown in the figure below, where the red arrow points to the Akkermansia mucipila.

Microbes4U® study

The Microbes4U® study is the first randomized double-blind placebo-controlled pilot study to evaluate the effects of pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila in humans

The main objectives of the Microbes4U® study were to determine safety, tolerability, and various parameters. Due to legislation, we at Kala Health cannot release details about these parameters or their outcomes. We can, however, make a statement about safety and tolerance.

Forty volunteers with specified indications were enrolled, of whom 32 completed the full study. For 3 months, the volunteers were asked to take one of the following tablets daily, before breakfast, depending on their group:

• a placebo (identical to the active product in terms of shape, size, taste and color),
• ten billion Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria in living form, or
• ten billion Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria in pasteurized form.

The results showed that daily oral supplementation for 3 months of 10 billion bacteria, live or pasteurized, was safe and well tolerated, with excellent compliance. The volunteers reported no side effects.

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