Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42161908›Full record

ArticleBone research2026

Akkermansia muciniphila attenuates intervertebral disc degeneration via extracellular vesicle-mediated delivery of the effector protein B2UKX5.

Zhe Guan, Xiaoxue Li, Yixiao Chen, Sheng Zhu, Jie Wen, Hongliang Zhou, Chunyuan Chen, Jianghua Liu, Guoqiang Zhu, Zhilin Pang and 13 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Bone research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors.

Zhe GuanDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.ORCID 0000-0002-5615-9091
Xiaoxue LiDepartment of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.ORCID 0009-0001-3041-7662
Yixiao ChenDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Sheng ZhuDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Jie WenDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Hongliang ZhouDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Chunyuan ChenDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.ORCID 0000-0001-7808-533X
Jianghua LiuThe First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China.ORCID 0000-0001-7593-4383
Guoqiang ZhuDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Zhilin PangDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Yiwei LiuDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Ling JinDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Shiyu ZengThe First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China.
Yi LuoDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Xiaoxiao GongDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, National Key Clinical Specialty, Branch of National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Yu YangDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Ya ChenDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Yang WuDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Meidan WanDepartment of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Hao YinDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Yong ZhouThird Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. 600787@csu.edu.cn.
Zhenxing WangDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. wangzx@csu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0003-1575-1459
Hui XieDepartment of Orthopedics, Movement System Injury and Repair Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. huixie@csu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0002-8526-2637

Funding

China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2024M7513252National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82125023National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82372482
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Low back pain is a leading cause of global disability, with intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) as a primary contributor. Emerging evidence suggests a link between gut microbiota and disc health, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Through Mendelian randomization and a clinical cohort analysis, we identified a causal inverse relationship between Akkermansia muciniphila (Akk) abundance and IVDD risk, with reduced fecal Akk levels correlating with increased IVDD severity. Akk protected against IVDD in microbiota-depleted mice, and this protection was abolished by pharmacologic inhibition of extracellular vesicle (EV) secretion. Consistently, Akk-derived EVs (Akk-EVs) recapitulated the benefits of Akk across natural aging, tail needle puncture, and bipedal standing mouse models, while control bacterium (Escherichia coli) and its EVs did not. Proteomics and functional validation identified B2UKX5 as a key Akk-EV-enriched effector protein. Furthermore, recombinant B2UKX5 attenuated IVDD in vivo and regulated critical pathways for disc homeostasis, including collagen synthesis, extracellular matrix remodeling, and chromatin silencing, as revealed by transcriptomic profiling of microdissected nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus tissues. Analysis of clinical samples further confirmed that Akk-EVs and B2UKX5 levels in circulation and intervertebral disc tissues were negatively correlated with IVDD severity. These findings establish a novel gut-disc axis, highlighting Akk, Akk-EVs, and B2UKX5 as promising therapeutic candidates for IVDD prevention and treatment.

Indexed as

AkkermansiaBacterial ProteinsExtracellular VesiclesGastrointestinal MicrobiomeIntervertebral Disc DegenerationLow Back PainAnimalsCausalityCohort StudiesDisease Models, AnimalFecesFemaleHumansIntervertebral DiscMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisBacterial ProteinsRecombinant Proteins

Identifiers

PMID42161908
PMCPMC13190703

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.