Akkermansia muciniphila inhibited the periodontitis caused by Fusobacterium nucleatum

• Published in: NPJ biofilms and microbiomes Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 49
• Main Authors: Song, Bingqing, Xian, Wenpan, Sun, Yan, Gou, Lichen, Guo, Qiang, Zhou, Xuedong, Ren, Biao, Cheng, Lei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 17-07-2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326/421; 692/700/3032/3039/3049; Akkermansia muciniphila; Biofilms; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell culture; Epithelial cells; Fusobacterium nucleatum; Gum disease; Homeostasis; Inflammation; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbial Ecology; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Microbiomes; MyD88 protein; NF-κB protein; Oral cavity; Periodontitis; Probiotics; Public health; Transcriptomes; Virulence; Virulence factors
• ISSN: 2055-5008; 2055-5008
• DOI: 10.1038/s41522-023-00417-0

Periodontitis is the most important cause of tooth loss in adults and is closely related to various systemic diseases. Its etiologic factor is plaque biofilm, and the primary treatment modality is plaque control. Studies have confirmed that
Fusobacterium nucleatum
can cause periodontitis through its virulence factors and copolymerizing effects with other periodontal pathogens, such as the red complex. Inhibiting
F. nucleatum
is an essential target for preventing periodontitis. The time-consuming and costly traditional periodontal treatment, periodontal scaling, and root planing are a significant burden on individual and public health. Antibiotic use may lead to oral microbial resistance and microbiome imbalance, while probiotics regulate microbial balance.
Akkermansia muciniphila
is a critical probiotic isolated from the human intestine. It can protect the integrity of the epithelial barrier, regulate and maintain flora homeostasis, improve metabolism, and colonize the oral cavity. Its abundance is inversely correlated with various diseases. We hypothesized that
A. muciniphila
could inhibit the effects of
F. nucleatum
and alleviate periodontitis. Bacterial co-culture experiments showed that
A. muciniphila
could inhibit the expression of the virulence gene of
F. nucleatum
. After treating gingival epithelial cells (GECs) with
F. nucleatum
and
A. muciniphila
, transcriptome sequencing and ELISA experiments on medium supernatant showed that
A. muciniphila
inhibited the inflammatory effect of
F. nucleatum
on GECs by inhibiting TLR/MyD88/NF-κB pathway modulation and secretion of inflammatory factors. Finally, animal experiments demonstrated that
A. muciniphila
could inhibit
F. nucleatum
-induced periodontitis in BALB/c mice.