Intestinal Integrity and Akkermansia muciniphila, a Mucin-Degrading Member of the Intestinal Microbiota Present in Infants, Adults, and the Elderly

• Published in: Applied and Environmental Microbiology Vol. 73; no. 23; pp. 7767 - 7770
• Main Authors: Collado, M. Carmen, Derrien, Muriel, Isolauri, Erika, de Vos, Willem M, Salminen, Seppo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for Microbiology 01.12.2007; American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
• Subjects: 16s ribosomal-rna; Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - growth & development; Bacteria - metabolism; bifidobacteria; Biological and medical sciences; Colonization; communities; diversity; Feces - microbiology; flow-cytometry; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes; gut; human fecal samples; Humans; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Intestines - microbiology; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Mucins - metabolism; Polymerase Chain Reaction; probes; reveals; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Human; Degradation; Mucin; Gut; Bacteria; Adult; Microflora; Infant; Elderly
• ISSN: 0099-2240; 1098-5336
• DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01477-07

Fluorescence in situ hybridization and real-time PCR analysis targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Akkermansia muciniphila were performed to determine its presence in the human intestinal tract. These techniques revealed that an A. muciniphila-like bacterium is a common member of the human intestinal tract and that its colonization starts in early life and develops within a year to a level close to that observed in adults (10⁸ cells/g) but decreases (P < 0.05) in the elderly.