| dc.description.abstract | The recent discovery of the bacterial species Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muc.) and subsequent studies have proposed a correlation between gut health and the presence of A. muc., however conflicting reports of enrichment of A. muc. in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients remain. Studies that determine if A. muc. is beneficial to colon health and the prevention of CRC must be conducted. This pilot study tested protocols to deplete the gut microbiome and transplant donor feces lacking A. muc., A. muc. alone, or vehicle. Additionally, the ability of A. muc. to metabolize a chemical carcinogen, azoxymethane (AOM) and initiate CRC was tested. A cohort of 15 wild type, C57BL/6J, female mice were given a defined diet and antibiotic cocktail for 308 days. Once sufficient gut microbial depletion was achieved as confirmed by qPCR, animals were gavaged with vehicle, A. muc., or feces lacking A. muc. (n=5). After 3 weeks of once weekly treatments, AOM was injected 12 hours before termination to determine the ability of A. muc. to metabolize AOM and initiate CRC. qPCR confirmed successful colonization and persistence of A. muc. in the A. muc. treated group alone, with reduced presence in animals that received vehicle or fecal transplant. Animals that received A. muc. alone had increased DNA damage in colonic crypts compared to vehicle or fecal transplanted animals. A. muc. treated and fecal transplant groups had a similar percentage of colonocytes that were both apoptotic and DNA damaged, indicating that DNA damaged cells die before they can become cancerous lesions. This pilot study established successful protocols for testing A. muc.’s role in colon health and CRC development. | |
