Akkermansia muciniphila in inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer

Akkermansia muciniphila(A.muciniphila),a type of Gram-negative anaerobe,was first isolated and identified from the feces of a healthy Caucasian woman at Wageningen University in 2004.[1]It can stably colonize the human gut 1 year after birth and accounts for 1%–4%of the total gut microbiota.A.muciniphila specializes in the degradation of mucin(the glycoprotein in mucus)and uses the mucin as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen.A.muciniphila is abundant in the host intestinal mucosal layer,with the greatest abundance in the cecum,where most mucin is produced.[2]Although degradation of mucin is a pathogen-like behavior;A.muciniphila does not show any pathogenicity,it resides only in the outer mucosal layer and does not reach the inner mucosal layer.Recently,several studies have revealed that A.muciniphila has important regulatory effects on gut homeostasis.