Does the cell extract of VH Akkermansia muciniphila stimulate insulin secretion from INS-1 pancreatic β-cells, and how strong is this effect compared with glucose stimulation?

VH Akkermansia muciniphila is a next-generation probiotic whose soluble cell extract was tested on the INS-1 rat pancreatic β-cell line to measure glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS).

The extract dose-dependently increases insulin release (e.g., 250 µg/mL gives ≈1.5 mU/L at 30 min and ≈1.2 mU/L at 60 min), but these levels are far lower than those elicited by the positive control 10 mM glucose (15.9 mU/L at 30 min and 27.7 mU/L at 60 min), indicating a modest insulin-secreting activity.