Physiological benefits of Akkermansia muciniphila under high-altitude hypoxia

When sojourners visit to high altitude, various symptoms may appear in the body including gastrointestinal symptoms such as poor appetite or nausea, vomiting, and incapacitating. The gastrointestinal tract is a key organ involved in the development of acute mountain sickness (AMS). The intestinal epithelial lining is covered by mucus layer. Mucosal barrier is considered as first line of protection of the gut wall which not only helps in lubricating and facilitating progression of bolus but also protects intestinal epithelial lining. Gut microbes play a major role in alterations of mucus barrier and may have important role in curtailing gastrointestinal symptoms at high altitude. In our previous study, we have reported ~ 17% decrease in Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria under hypobaric hypoxia exposure in Sprague-Dawley rats. A. muciniphila is a mucin-degrading bacterium. Its presence in the human intestine is inversely associated to a number of diseases. A. muciniphila is found in the mucus layer, where it helps to maintain intestinal integrity and protects from various inflammatory diseases. Hypoxia decreases A. muciniphila bacterium in gut leading to gastrointestinal barrier injury. It could be an important probiotic that may have physiological benefits in high-altitude hypoxia induced clinical scenarios. A large-scale clinical experiments, production feasibility, and regulatory clearances need to be resolved to develop it as next generation probiotic. In this review, we have searched various databases including PubMed and Google Scholar with keywords Akkermansia muciniphila, A. muciniphila, human physiology, etc. to comprehensively highlight the importance of this gut bacterium. KEY POINTS: • High-altitude hypoxia leads to gastrointestinal barrier injury. • Hypoxia decreases Akkermansia muciniphila bacterium in gut. • A. muciniphila as probiotic may help to maintain intestinal integrity.