IL18 and infection: In the absence of Akkermansia, intestinal inflammation caused by a single Salmonella typhimurium infection was reduced with the action of IL-18 (involved in phagocytosis of intracellular pathogens), but in mice colonized by both Akkermansia and Salmonella typhimurium, levels of IL-18 were significantly reduced, thereby promoting the growth of Salmonella typhimurium and further exacerbating the symptoms of infection (39).