Akkermansia muciniphilareduces susceptibility to Listeria monocytogenesinfection in mice fed a high-fat diet

ABSTRACTA high-fat (HF) diet reduces resistance to the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. We demonstrate that short-term gavage with A. muciniphilaincreases resistance to oral and systemic L. monocytogenesinfection in mice fed a HF diet. A. muciniphilareduced inflammation in the gut and liver of mice fed a high-fat diet prior to infection and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration in the ileum to levels similar to mice fed a low-fat (LF) diet. Akkermansiaadministration had minimal impacts upon the microbiota and microbial metabolites and did not affect individual taxa or impact the Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes ratio. In summary, A. muciniphilaincreased resistance to L. monocytogenesinfection in mice fed a HF diet by moderating immune/physiological effects through specific interaction between A. muciniphilaand the host gut.