Evaluation of Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria in obese and overweight type 2 diabetic patients treated with insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents comparing with healthy subjects

Background: There is a significant relationship between human intestinal bacteria and overweight, obesity and diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, a bacterium residing in the mucosal layer in obese and overweight type 2 diabetic patients undergoing insulin therapy or oral hypoglycemic agents comparing with healthy individuals.

Methods: Forty insulin-dependent diabetic patients, 40 diabetic patients who were treated with oral hypoglycemic agents and 40 healthy people were recruited based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and they were evaluated for lipid profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS), and Akkermansia muciniphila bacterium.

Results: The majority of all study subjects were women, non-smokers with more than four hours activity a day. They were not different in terms of demographic characteristics. FBS level was significantly higher in subjects with type 2 diabetes than in healthy subjects (P <0.001) with no significant difference in cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Cycle threshold (CT) level in both group of diabetic patients was significantly higher than that of healthy subjects (P< .001) and there was a significant difference between two groups of diabetic patients and health subjects in terms of colony-forming unit (CFU), (P = 0.001).

Conclusion: Akkermansia muciniphila abundance was higher in the healthy subjects comparing with diabetic patients and it was significantly greater in the patients treated with insulin than those who taken oral medications with beneficial metabolic effects, such as lowering FBS levels. There was no significant difference between all three study groups in terms of triglyceride, cholesterol, and BMI.