Assessment of fecal Akkermansia muciniphila in patients with osteoporosis and osteopenia: a pilot study

Objectives: Osteoporosis is characterized by slow deterioration in bone mass and disruption of its structure, leading to an increased risk of bone fractures. Gut microbiota plays an important role in the transport and absorption of nutrients needed for bone health. Akkermansia muciniphila is one of the gut microbiota members that its beneficial role in prevention of metabolic disorder was suggested. The aim of the current pilot study was the assessment of fecal A. muciniphila in patients with osteoporosis and osteopenia.

Methods: A total of 36 subjects including eight with osteoporosis (three men and five women), eight with osteopenia (two men and six women), and 20 normal controls (six men and 14 women) were selected. Microbial genome was extracted from fresh stool samples. The bacterial load was determined by quantitative real-time PCR using 16S rRNA specific primers.

Results: The participants' mean age in the osteoporosis, osteopenia and control groups were 61.71, 45 and 45.05 years, respectively. The majority of osteoporosis patients were post-menopause women, while in osteopenia group was pre-menopause. There were significant differences in terms of age, T-score, Z-score, and menopause among groups (P value < 0.05). The presence of A. muciniphila was higher in the healthy group compared to osteopenia group; however, these differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions: In conclusion, however, there was no statistically significant difference between the study groups; it seems that the load of A. muciniphila may be related to bone health. Further in vivo and in vitro studies are needed to investigate the immunological and biochemical pathways.