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Akkermansia muciniphila is permissive to arthritis in the K/BxN mouse model of arthritis

Matthew L Stoll1, M Kathy Pierce2, Jordan A Watkins2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. mstoll@peds.uab.edu.

Genes and Immunity
|March 31, 2018
PubMed

Insights

The gut microbiota in children with spondyloarthritis may influence arthritis development. Specifically, Akkermansia muciniphila abundance correlated with increased ankle swelling in mice, suggesting a role in arthritis pathogenesis.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • Abnormalities in the gut microbiota are increasingly recognized in patients with inflammatory conditions like arthritis.
  • Understanding the pathogenic potential of the human microbiota is crucial for developing targeted therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the pathogenicity of human microbiota from children with spondyloarthritis (SpA) in a mouse model.
  • To determine the specific microbial players associated with arthritis development.

Main Methods:

  • Fecal microbial transplantation from SpA patients and healthy children into germ-free mice.
  • Assessment of ankle swelling as a measure of arthritis severity.
  • 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatic analysis to characterize the gut microbiota composition.
  • Correlation analysis to link microbial abundance with disease severity.

Main Results:

  • Ankle swelling was comparable between mice receiving microbiota from SpA patients and controls, indicating complex host-microbe interactions.
  • Transplanted microbiota showed incomplete engraftment with over-representation of Bacteroides and Akkermansia genera.
  • Microbiota composition significantly predicted ankle swelling severity (R2 = 0.185, p = 0.018).
  • Bacteroides abundance inversely correlated with swelling (r = -0.510, p = 0.010), while Akkermansia abundance showed a positive correlation (r = 0.367, p = 0.078).
  • Addition of Akkermansia muciniphila to a defined microbial community (ASF) or transplanted human microbiota significantly increased ankle swelling.

Conclusions:

  • This study supports an association between Akkermansia muciniphila and arthritis development.
  • The findings highlight the potential role of specific gut bacteria in the pathogenesis of spondyloarthritis.

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