Twelve weeks of supplementation with Enterobiome’s heat-killed Akkermansia muciniphila strain EB-AMDK19 was associated with significant improvements in the scores on the Breathlessness, Cough, and Sputum Scale (BCSS), compared to placebo.
However, no significant improvements were recorded for lung function, according to findings published in Nutrients.
“We provide novel evidence on the potential effects of ETB-F01, a formulation integrating heat-killed A. muciniphila EB-AMDK19, on ameliorating symptoms of patients experiencing respiratory symptoms for 4 to 12 weeks without significant adverse events,” the study, led by researchers from Seoul National University and Enterobiome, reported.
Next-generation probiotic
A. muciniphila is a Gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium that colonizes the gut during the first year of life. The bug reportedly accounts for about 3% of the human gut microbiota, and its abundance in the intestinal mucus layer is inversely correlated with BMI, type 1 diabetes and bowel disease in humans.
Akkermansia is known to produce nutrients that feed intestinal cells responsible for producing the intestinal mucus layer, which helps to maintain healthy intestinal barrier function and controls gut permeability and low-grade inflammation in the gut.
Korean scientists reported in 2021 that A. muciniphila may secrete a protein that stimulates a “modest increase of circulating GLP-1 just after an oral glucose challenge.”
Much of the early research into the species was conducted in Belgium and the Netherlands by scientists at the Catholic University of Louvain and Wageningen University, and a spin-off company called A-Mansia was launched several years ago to develop of A. muciniphila products. The A-Mansia company focuses on the pasteurized form of the bacterium.
The new study also used a heat-killed form of the bacterium, which would be classed as a postbiotic, according to a consensus definition from the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP).
Study details
The Korea-based researchers recruited 133 people with respiratory symptoms to participate in their double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either the ETB-F01 formulation which included A. muciniphila EB-AMDK19, encapsulated at a level of 50 billion cells.
After 12 weeks, the researchers reported significant improvements in the primary outcome, as measured by the BCSS, particularly for breathlessness and cough.
However, while there was a trend towards improvements in lung function (a secondary outcome), this result did not reach statistical significance. Additionally, no improvements were recorded for fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale, St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) or Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score.
Importantly, no severe adverse events were reported for the Akkermansia product, the researchers noted.
Commenting on the potential mechanism(s) of action, the study pointed to the gut–lung axis, a concept that, “stems from growing evidence suggesting that intestinal dysbiosis can impact the onset or severity of lung diseases.
“[I]t has been suggested that gut microbiota-derived SCFAs have the potential to enhance lung immunity or modify excessive inflammation,” the researchers wrote.
Source: Nutrients
16(23), 4113; doi: 10.3390/nu16234113
“Efficacy of ETB-F01, Heat-Killed Akkermansia muciniphila Strain EB-AMDK19, in Patients with Respiratory
Symptoms: A Multicenter Clinical Trial”
Authors: H.W. Lee et al.
