Akkermansia muciniphila inversely correlates with the onset of inflammation, altered adipose tissue metabolism and metabolic disorders during obesity in mice

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 16643 - 16656
• Main Authors: Schneeberger, Marc, Everard, Amandine, Gómez-Valadés, Alicia G., Matamoros, Sébastien, Ramírez, Sara, Delzenne, Nathalie M., Gomis, Ramon, Claret, Marc, Cani, Patrice D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 13.11.2015; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 38/39; 45/22; 45/77; 45/90; 631/326; 64/60; 692/420/256/2515; Abundance; Adipose tissue; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Adipose tissues; Age Factors; Animal models; Animals; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacterial Load; Bilophila - genetics; Bilophila - physiology; Diet, High-Fat - adverse effects; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - genetics; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; Gene Expression; High fat diet; Homeostasis; Homeostasis - genetics; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humanities and Social Sciences; Inflammation; Inflammation - etiology; Inflammation - genetics; Inflammation - metabolism; Insulin; Intestinal microflora; Intestines; Intestins; Leptin; Lipid metabolism; Lipid Metabolism - genetics; Male; Metabolic Diseases - etiology; Metabolic Diseases - genetics; Metabolic Diseases - metabolism; Metabolic disorders; Metabolism; Mice (Laboratory animals); Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microbiologia; Microbiology; multidisciplinary; Obesitat; Obesity; Obesity - etiology; Obesity - genetics; Obesity - metabolism; Ratolins (Animals de laboratori); Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Rodents; Science; Species Specificity; Teixit adipós; Time Factors; Triglycerides; Verrucomicrobia - genetics; Verrucomicrobia - physiology
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep16643

Recent evidence indicates that the gut microbiota plays a key role in the pathophysiology of obesity. Indeed, diet-induced obesity (DIO) has been associated to substantial changes in gut microbiota composition in rodent models. In the context of obesity, enhanced adiposity is accompanied by low-grade inflammation of this tissue but the exact link with gut microbial community remains unknown. In this report, we studied the consequences of high-fat diet (HFD) administration on metabolic parameters and gut microbiota composition over different periods of time. We found that Akkermansia muciniphila abundance was strongly and negatively affected by age and HFD feeding and to a lower extend Bilophila wadsworthia was the only taxa following an opposite trend. Different approaches, including multifactorial analysis, showed that these changes in Akkermansia muciniphila were robustly correlated with the expression of lipid metabolism and inflammation markers in adipose tissue, as well as several circulating parameters (i.e., glucose, insulin, triglycerides, leptin) from DIO mice. Thus, our data shows the existence of a link between gut Akkermansia muciniphila abundance and adipose tissue homeostasis on the onset of obesity, thus reinforcing the beneficial role of this bacterium on metabolism.