Microbe in the Gut Regulates Cholesterol and Lipid Production

A study led by Duke University has identified the genes essential for intestinal colonization and the use of mucin by Akkermansia muciniphila, a gut microbe associated with lower rates of metabolic disorders. The study found that A. muciniphila can have multiple survival strategies and that using mucin as the preferred nutritional source is condition-dependent. When implanted in mice without a complex microbiome, A. muciniphila repressed human genes essential for cholesterol biosynthesis in the colon, suggesting that it can regulate the expression of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis.