ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1638771
Investigating the Role of Akkermansia muciniphila Akk11 in Modulating Obesity and Intestinal Dysbiosis: A Comparative Study of Live and Pasteurized Treatments
Provisionally accepted
Songhui Feng1,2,3
Weitao Wang1,2,3Xin Zhang1,2,3Shimaa Elsayed Helal1,2,3
Nan Peng1,2,3*Zhenting Zhang4,5*- 1Huazhong Agriculture University State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Wuhan, China
- 2Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, WUHAN, China
- 3Huazhong Agricultural University College of Life Science and Technology, WUHAN, China
- 4Key Laboratory of Environment Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control Ministry of Education, Guiyang, China
- 5Guizhou Medical University School of Public Health, Guiyang, China
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Obesity has become a major global health issue, particularly linked to imbalances in gut microbiota and chronic low-grade inflammation. Probiotics have been applied to treat or alleviate obesity, especially in the case of Akkermansia muciniphila. While the standard strain A. muciniphila ATCC BAA-835 has been shown to help reduce obesity, significant functional variations among different strains remain a concern. To address this issue, our research investigated the impact of A. muciniphila Akk11 (Akk11), the strain sourced from the feces of healthy infants, in both its live and pasteurized forms on obesity. We observed that both forms of Akk11 provided protective benefits in obese mice, as evidenced by reductions in Lee's index and the area of white adipose tissue. In terms of intestinal health, both live and pasteurized Akk11 notably increased the number of goblet cells in colon, while also significantly improving mucosal integrity and enhancing the expression of tight junction proteins. Notably, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that pasteurized Akk11 altered the gut microbiota composition, with significant differences in the dominant intestinal microbiota. The pasteurized Akk11 group showed a marked increase in the abundance of the Akkermansia genus. Additionally, both treatments influenced the levels of short-chain fatty acid, though their effects varied. Compared to the control group, both live and pasteurized Akk11 treatments led to higher levels of isobutyric and valeric acids. Furthermore, the live Akk11 significantly boosted propionic acid levels, while the pasteurized Akk11 significantly increased butyric acid levels. These findings indicated that both live and pasteurized Akk11 could serve as promising strategies for alleviating obesity linked to high-fat diets. This research supports the potential use of various A. muciniphila preparations as therapeutic options for obesity and related health issues in humans.
Keywords: Akkermansia muciniphila Akk11, Obesity, Pasteurization, Gut Microbiota, Metabolism
Received: 31 May 2025; Accepted: 08 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Feng, Wang, Zhang, Helal, Peng and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Nan Peng, nanp@mail.hzau.edu.cn
Zhenting Zhang, zhangzhenting@gmc.edu.cn
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