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Bibliography on: Fecal Transplantation

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Robert J. Robbins is a biologist, an educator, a science administrator, a publisher, an information technologist, and an IT leader and manager who specializes in advancing biomedical knowledge and supporting education through the application of information technology. More About:  RJR | OUR TEAM | OUR SERVICES | THIS WEBSITE

RJR: Recommended Bibliography 06 May 2026 at 01:48 Created: 

Fecal Transplantation

Fecal Transplantion is a procedure in which fecal matter is collected from a tested donor, mixed with a saline or other solution, strained, and placed in a patient, by colonoscopy, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or enema. The theory behind the procedure is that a normal gut microbial ecosystem is required for good health and that sometimes a benefucuial ecosystem can be destroyed, perhaps by antibiotics, allowing other bacteria, specifically Clostridium difficile to over-populate the colon, causing debilitating, sometimes fatal diarrhea. C. diff. is on the rise throughout the world. The CDC reports that approximately 347,000 people in the U.S. alone were diagnosed with this infection in 2012. Of those, at least 14,000 died. Fecal transplant has also had promising results with many other digestive or auto-immune diseases, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, and Ulcerative Colitis. It has also been used around the world to treat other conditions, although more research in other areas is needed. Fecal transplant was first documented in 4th century China, where the treatment was known as yellow soup.

Created with PubMed® Query: ( "(fecal OR faecal) (transplant OR transplantation)" OR "fecal microbiota transplant" ) NOT pmcbook NOT ispreviousversion

Citations The Papers (from PubMed®)

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RevDate: 2026-05-05
CmpDate: 2026-05-05

Tremblay C, Edger-Lacoursière Z, Schneider G, et al (2026)

Rehabilitation Evaluation and Treatment for Skin Graft Complications of the Genitalia.

Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association, 47(3):868-878.

Skin graft complications may include pain, contractures, hypertrophic scars (HSc), hypersensitivity, and recurrent wounds. Complications involving grafts to the genitalia, perineum, and/or buttocks can be particularly challenging, directly affecting walking, sitting, voiding, bowel elimination, sexual function, and intimacy, ultimately diminishing quality of life. Perineal and pelvic floor rehabilitation (PPFR) is commonly used to treat various pelvic floor disorders; however, its application following burn injury or necrotizing fasciitis has not been previously described. This manuscript presents the evaluation and treatment outcomes of patients with necrotizing fasciitis or Fournier's gangrene. Initial evaluation was conducted approximately 4 months postadmission by a certified pelvic floor physiotherapist and occupational therapist. Treatment included pelvic floor rehabilitation, patient education, sensory re-education, bladder and bowel training, use of adapted pressure garments, gel application, cutaneous and myofascial stretching, and manual therapy. This report details the outcomes of 2 male patients (37 and 69 years old) who underwent skin grafting and reconstructive surgery following necrotizing fasciitis and Fournier's gangrene. Both presented with complex wounds that closed approximately 4 months postadmission, accompanied by contractures, HSc, altered sensory perception, incontinence, and sexual intimacy dysfunction. Following PPFR treatment, improvements were observed in pruritus, urinary and fecal retention capacity, sexuality-related fear avoidance, penile deviation, lower extremity range of motion, satisfaction with sexual function, and sensory perception. This is the first description of a standardized PPFR protocol in this context, demonstrating that specialized interdisciplinary rehabilitation can enhance sexual function, body-image satisfaction, and overall quality of life in patients with genital, perineal, and/or buttock grafts.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Qie RJ, Qin JB, Wu HY, et al (2026)

Key messengers in the gut-nose axis: mechanisms of gut microbial metabolites in the immunomodulation of allergic rhinitis.

Frontiers in immunology, 17:1796775.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common clinical chronic inflammatory respiratory disease, in which immune imbalance serves as a core component of its complex pathogenesis. In recent years, the gut-nose axis has emerged as a novel pathway mediating immune crosstalk between the intestinal tract and the nasal cavity, garnering significant academic attention. Gut microbial metabolites (such as short-chain fatty acids, tryptophan metabolites, bile acids, and polyamines) are profoundly involved in the pathophysiology of AR by reshaping the nasal mucosal immune microenvironment via systemic circulation and neural pathways and regulating the Th2/Treg balance, innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), and mast cell functions. This article systematically reviews the immunomodulatory mechanisms of core gut microbial metabolites, explores their impact on nasal mucosal epithelial barrier function and immune cell activity, and summarizes metabolite-based clinical intervention strategies, including postbiotic therapy (bioactive compounds derived from microbial cells or metabolites), precision nutritional interventions, and fecal microbiota transplantation. Additionally, the paper analyzes current challenges such as heterogeneity and dose-response effects, aiming to provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the immunomodulatory mechanisms of the gut-nose axis and a reference for developing novel precision strategies for the prevention and treatment of AR.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Zheng L, Jia T, Li Y, et al (2026)

The interplay between gastrointestinal dysfunction and gut microbiota dynamics in sepsis.

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 16:1761536.

Sepsis frequently involves early gastrointestinal dysfunction, in which intestinal barrier breakdown and microbiota dysbiosis amplify systemic inflammation and contribute to multi-organ failure. Emerging evidence indicates that the gut is not merely a bystander in sepsis but an active driver of pathogenic cascades through epithelial injury, mucosal immune dysregulation, ischemia-reperfusion stress, and impaired motility, collectively promoting microbial translocation and immune deviation. In parallel, sepsis is associated with profound remodeling of the gut microbiome, characterized by reduced commensal diversity, expansion of pathobionts, and functional shifts in key microbial metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, and tryptophan-derived products, which further compromise mucosal integrity and host immune tone. This narrative review synthesizes experimental, translational, and clinical findings to elucidate the bidirectional interaction gut barrier-microbiota interplay in sepsis and to summarize mechanistic links across epithelial, immune, and metabolic signaling pathways, including gut-liver and gut-brain axes relevant to sepsis-associated organ dysfunction. dysfunctional microbial community leads to systemic immune deviation, multi-organ dysfunction and sepsis-associated encephalopathy, a common and severe neurological complication of sepsis. We also discuss emerging therapeutic strategies targeting the gut-microbiota axis-such as early enteral nutrition, prebiotics/postbiotics, defined microbial consortia, fecal microbiota transplantation, and metabolite-based supplementation-and evaluate their potential and limitations in septic populations. Finally, we highlight key challenges, including unresolved causality, inter-individual variability, context-dependent responses, and safety concerns, underscoring the need for longitudinal multi-omic profiling, host-microbiome phenotyping, and mechanism-informed interventional trials to enable precision microbiome-based approaches for sepsis.

RevDate: 2026-05-04

Yang F, Liu S, Liu G, et al (2026)

Fecal microbiota transplantation from different pig breeds alters fat deposition and gut microbiota in mice.

Applied microbiology and biotechnology pii:10.1007/s00253-026-13823-z [Epub ahead of print].

Gut microbiota plays a vital role in nutrient digestion, energy metabolism, and immune regulation in pigs. However, the core bacterial species influencing fat deposition remain poorly defined due to the complexity and diversity of the intestinal microbial ecosystem. In this study, healthy Putian Black (PT) pigs and Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire (DLY) pigs of similar ages were used as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) donors, with male ICR mice as recipients. A control group (CM) received saline, while the experimental groups were gavaged fecal suspensions from PT pigs (PM) or DLY pigs (DM). Results showed that intramuscular fat content, triglyceride levels, and adipogenic gene expression (PPARG, FABP4, LPL, ATGL) were extremely significant higher in the PM group than in the DM group (P<0.01). 16 S rRNA sequencing revealed that both PM and DM groups had lower Firmicutes abundance but higher Bacteroidetes abundance compared to the CM group (P<0.05). Notably, the PM group exhibited higher Firmicutes and lower Bacteroidetes abundance than the DM group (P<0.05). Correlation analysis identified S_uncultured_bacterium_g_Prevotella as negatively correlated with FASN and DGAT2 expression (P<0.01), while Lactobacillus species showed positive correlations with PPARG, FASN, and ATGL expression (P<0.05). These findings demonstrate that FMT alters gut microbiota composition and host gene expression, thereby influencing fat deposition, with Prevotella and Lactobacillus emerging as potential key genera. KEY POINTS: ∙ FMT resulted in extremely significant higher intramuscular fat content in the PM group compared to the DM group. ∙ Lactobacillus may be a key genus regulating fat deposition in PT pigs. ∙ Prevotella may be a key genus regulating fat deposition in DLY pigs.

RevDate: 2026-05-05

Diop K, Benlaïfaoui M, Hunter S, et al (2026)

Metagenomics and culturomics reveal the dual role of the gut microbiome in the development of immune-related toxicities and the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer.

Microbiome pii:10.1186/s40168-026-02419-4 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Despite their major impact on cancer treatment, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are frequently associated with immune-related adverse events (irAE). Growing evidence suggests that the occurrence of irAE may be correlated with enhanced ICI efficacy, although the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Most studies investigating the role of the gut microbiome in oncology have relied on sequencing approaches, particularly shotgun metagenomics. Although microbiome profiling revealed strong associations between specific bacterial taxa and clinical outcomes, it has limitations, including an inability to detect low-abundance bacteria and to recover live cultivable bacteria. To overcome these limitations, we combined shotgun metagenomics and culturomics on fecal samples collected from patients with melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), at baseline and at the onset of immune related (ir)-colitis.

RESULTS: We first validated across three independent cohorts of 589 patients with melanoma or NSCLC treated with ICI that grade ≥ 2 irAE were associated with significantly longer overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Complementary analysis using shotgun metagenomics and culturomics revealed that patients who developed grade ≥ 2 irAE had a lower alpha diversity compared to those who did not develop grade ≥ 2 irAE. Metagenomics results showed enrichment of Ruminococcus gnavus and Streptococcus vestibularis at baseline in grade ≥ 2 irAE patients, while Clostridium paraputrificum and Streptococcus spp. were isolated by culturomics from baseline stool samples from ir-colitis patients. Longitudinal analysis of paired stool samples revealed a shift in microbiome composition with enrichment of Paraclostridium bifermentans and Clostridium paraputrificum, lower lipopolysaccharide and higher flagellin concentrations at baseline compared with the time of ir-colitis. Fecal microbiome transplantation from a patient with ir-colitis into mice induced surrogate markers of colonic inflammation and enhanced the anti-tumor activity of combined anti-PD-1/CTLA-4. P. bifermentans isolated from this patient sample demonstrated direct epithelial barrier disruption in Caco-2 monolayers, characterized by decreased ZO-1 and Occludin immunofluorescence signal and increased TNF-α and IL-1β expression. Moreover, in the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) colitis model, P. bifermentans worsened weight loss. In a separate tumor model, it amplified the anti-tumor effect of dual ICI. This beneficial effect was also maintained after treatment with P. bifermentans < 3 kDa filtered supernatant.

CONCLUSION: Altogether, our results suggest that P. bifermentans promotes subclinical colitis while increasing the efficacy of dual ICI. This provides a potential microbiome-derived link between irAE and improved anti-tumor responses. Video Abstract.

RevDate: 2026-05-05
CmpDate: 2026-05-05

Helliwell JA, Sciberras P, Dosis A, et al (2026)

Modulation of the gut microbiota as a novel strategy to prevent anastomotic leak after colorectal surgery: Systematic scoping review.

Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, 28(5):e70472.

BACKGROUND: Anastomotic leak (AL) remains a major source of morbidity following colorectal surgery. Increasing evidence implicates the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of AL, with certain microbial species disrupting tissue repair through collagen degradation. Perioperative modulation of the microbiome may offer a novel strategy to improve anastomotic healing. This scoping review aimed to map available evidence on microbiome-targeted interventions, synthesise mechanistic insights, and identify translation gaps in relation to anastomotic outcomes.

METHODS: A systematic scoping review was performed. MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials databases were searched from database inception to 5th August 2025. Studies were eligible if they investigated perioperative interventions that modulated the gut microbiome and evaluated anastomotic healing or leak rates. Both clinical and preclinical studies were included. A narrative synthesis was performed by charting key findings.

RESULTS: Of 4209 records screened, 27 studies met the inclusion criteria: 9 clinical and 18 preclinical. Interventions included bowel preparation, probiotics, synbiotics, arginine/omega-3 supplementation, dietary modification, faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), phosphate, tranexamic acid, morphine and infliximab. Among clinical studies, only oral antibiotics combined with mechanical bowel preparation were associated with a significant reduction in leak rates. Preclinical studies showed interventions such as high-fibre diets, FMT, rectal tranexamic acid and phosphate supplementation improved anastomotic healing via enhanced microbial diversity, suppression of pathogenic organisms, or inhibition of collagenolytic activity.

CONCLUSION: This review highlights a range of microbiome-targeted interventions with potential to reduce AL. While clinical evidence remains limited, several preclinical strategies demonstrate promise and warrant evaluation in early-phase human trials.

RevDate: 2026-05-05

Bashir S, Shah IM, Javeed S, et al (2026)

Beyond Conventional Therapy: A Comprehensive Review of Herbal, Traditional, and Emerging Interventions for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Current molecular medicine pii:CMM-EPUB-154985 [Epub ahead of print].

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common and multifactorial endocrine disorder that leads to significant changes in the reproductive, metabolic, and psychological domains of women's health in their reproductive years. In addition, the conventional therapies (lifestyle modification, metformin, oral contraceptives, and ovulation-inducing agents) that are the mainstay of management of the syndrome may still not be able to fully address the diverse pathophysiology of PCOS as well as the long-term risks associated with it. This narrative review highlights clinical and mechanistic data from studies on various complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities as first-line treatments for PCOS, in addition to conventional therapy. Correspondingly, herbal and botanical agents (berberine, cinnamon, licorice, Vitex agnus-castus, curcumin, and epigallocatechin gallate) modulate insulin signalling, androgen synthesis, inflammatory pathways, and oxidative stress, with initial clinical trials reporting improvements in metabolism and hormones to a similar extent as standard therapies in selected populations. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), both multi-herb prescriptions and acupuncture, provides tailored formulas that might not only regulate ovulation and endocrine parameters but also lower metabolic indices, despite the high variability across studies. Stress reduction, physical fitness, and the quality of life are among the achievements of mind-body interventions (yoga, tai chi, qigong, and mindfulness-based stress reduction). Improvements in hyperinsulinemia, hypolipidemia, ovulation, and hyperandrogenemia, along with the related insulinresistant and vitamin D-deficient phenotypes, have been steadily reported with the use of the nutraceutical combinations of inositols, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, Nacetylcysteine, coenzyme Q10, and resveratrol. New non-conventional methods, such as fecal and vaginal microbiota transplantation, platelet-rich plasma, and kisspeptin analogues, have been identified as potential therapeutic routes but are still in their infancy in terms of development. Although CAM therapies have multiple advantages in controlling many PCOS domains, the official integration into clinical practice would require standardization, rigorous randomized controlled trials, and continuous safety monitoring. If correctly and cautiously applied, CAM may be useful as an adjunct alongside established therapy, rendering PCOS management more holistic and personalized.

RevDate: 2026-05-02

Liao W, Gao J, Zhang J, et al (2026)

Haizao Yuhu Decoction alleviates goiter via the gut-thyroid axis: Microbiota-derived SCFAs promote hormone synthesis and restore apoptosis.

Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 156:158256 pii:S0944-7113(26)00490-3 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Haizao Yuhu Decoction (HYD) is a classic Traditional Chinese Medicine for goiter, but its mechanism related to the "gut-thyroid axis" remains unknown. This study investigates whether HYD treats goiter via this axis and elucidates the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS: A rat goiter model was induced with propylthiouracil (PTU), followed by two weeks of HYD treatment. Gut microbiota was analyzed by metagenomic sequencing; fecal and serum short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were quantified by targeted LC-MS/MS analysis. Thyroid function was assessed via iodine content and hormone levels. Key proteins in hormone synthesis and apoptosis were evaluated by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) supported microbiota causality.

RESULTS: HYD alleviated goiter and hypothyroidism. It restored gut microbiota diversity and enriched SCFA-producing bacteria (e.g., Bifidobacterium pseudolongum), coincident with increased SCFAs including butyrate. These SCFA changes correlated with reduced HDAC1/2/3/8 in thyroid tissue, consistent with enhanced histone acetylation, and were accompanied by upregulation of NIS, TG, TPO, and DUOX2. Concurrently, elevated SCFAs were associated with AKT/Mdm2 pathway inhibition, p53 stabilization, downstream activation of P21 and Caspase-3, and suppression of Bcl-2, supporting a model of promoted thyroid cell apoptosis. FMT supported that HYD-modulated microbiota alone reproduced these effects.

CONCLUSION: HYD alleviates PTU-induced goiter in rats in a manner associated with gut microbiota remodeling and increased SCFA production, which correlate with enhanced thyroid hormone synthesis and restored apoptosis-a relationship supported by FMT experiments. However, direct interactions between HYD and PTU cannot be fully excluded. These findings are consistent with a model in which HYD acts through the gut-thyroid axis, providing mechanistic insights into its therapeutic effects.

RevDate: 2026-05-03

Meng F, Xue M, Li H, et al (2026)

Consumption of hydrogen-rich water ameliorates atherosclerosis by modulating gut microbiota and enhancing short-chain fatty acid levels.

Life sciences, 397:124418 pii:S0024-3205(26)00227-4 [Epub ahead of print].

AIMS: Molecular hydrogen (H2) is a safe gaseous signaling molecule with anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to explore the anti-atherosclerotic effects of hydrogen-rich water (H2W) and clarify the underlying mechanism involving the gut microbiota and its metabolites.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: ApoE[-/-] mice were administered H2W to evaluate atherosclerotic plaque development and stability. Gut microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acid levels were analyzed. Antibiotic-induced microbiota depletion and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) were used to verify the mediating role of the gut microbiota. In vitro assays were performed to examine the effects of propionate on macrophage inflammation and polarization.

KEY FINDINGS: H2W consumption significantly attenuated plaque formation and enhanced plaque stability in ApoE[-/-] mice, accompanied by altered gut microbiota structure and short-chain fatty acid profiles. Antibiotic treatment abolished the protective effects of H2W, while FMT from H2W-treated mice transferred the anti-atherosclerotic phenotype. H2W notably increased propionate levels in cecal contents and serum. Propionate directly suppressed inflammatory responses and M1 macrophage polarization in vitro.

SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that H2W alleviates atherosclerosis by modulating the gut microbiota-propionate-macrophage axis. Our findings highlight H2W as a promising and safe intervention for atherosclerosis and provide new mechanistic insights into the crosstalk between gut microbial metabolites and vascular inflammation.

RevDate: 2026-05-02

de Oliveira Andrade F, Staley C, Jin L, et al (2026)

Gut microbiome modulates breast cancer risk in socially isolated mice.

Breast cancer research : BCR pii:10.1186/s13058-026-02292-x [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer risk and mortality are associated with disrupted gut microbiome functions which in turn can affect tumor immune responses. One source of disruption could be stress. Social isolation (SI) stress consistently increases breast cancer risk and mortality in preclinical models and women, but whether SI promotes mammary tumor growth by affecting gut microbiome has not been studied.

METHODS: We investigated if increased E0771 mammary tumorigenesis in SI female C57BL/6 mice was associated with changes in their gut microbiome by treating mice with an antibiotic mix that suppresses bacterial abundance and by performing fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from SI or group-housed (GH) donors to GH host. The effect of SI on anti-tumor CD8 + T and immunosuppressive Foxp3 + Treg cells was also studied.

RESULTS: Fecal bacteria that were present at different abundances between GH and SI mice were short chain fatty acid (SCFA) producers, and the most consistent change across three replicate studies was decreased fecal abundance of Akkermansia genus in SI mice. In addition, fecal propionic acid levels were reduced in SI mice, compared with GH mice, in agreement with Akkermansia being propionic acid producer. SI reduced the activation of CD8 + T cells systemically and in the tumor microenvironment, while the levels and activation of immunosuppressive Foxp3 Tregs were increased. Antibiotic treatment reversed increased mammary tumorigenesis and immunosuppression in SI mice but did not affect GH mice. Further, FMT from SI donors increased tumor growth in GH host, compared with FMT from GH donor.

CONCLUSION: Gut dysbiosis caused by SI may be driving their increased mammary tumorigenesis, potentially through gut dysbiosis induced immunosuppression.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Lin Y, Lu P, Ding Q, et al (2026)

Current Perspectives on the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Pathogenesis of Microbiota and the Gut-Brain Axis, and Emerging Therapeutics.

Biomedicines, 14(4): pii:biomedicines14040859.

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is driven by an interplay among intestinal dysbiosis and aberrant mucosal immune responses. This review centers on the microbiota as a pivotal pathogenic hub, systematically dissecting how three hallmark features of dysbiosis-reduced microbial alpha diversity, depletion of immunomodulatory commensals, and expansion of pro-inflammatory pathobionts-collectively compromise epithelial barrier function, promote bacterial translocation, and sustain chronic mucosal inflammation. We further integrate emerging evidence implicating bidirectional gut-brain axis communication in amplifying both peripheral inflammation and central nervous system (CNS)-mediated behavioral comorbidities. Building on this mechanistic framework, we critically evaluate next-generation microbiota-targeted interventions: standardized fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), rationally designed live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), precision phage cocktails targeting defined pathobionts, and microbiome-informed dietary strategies. Collectively, these approaches represent a paradigm shift-from broad-spectrum immunosuppression toward mechanism-guided, ecosystem-level modulation-thereby advancing the goal of precision medicine in IBD.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Shajahan SR, Hamid N, Okunsai B, et al (2026)

Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Alzheimer's Disease: Linking Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Amyloid Pathology-A Systematic Review.

Biomedicines, 14(4): pii:biomedicines14040860.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder characterized by amyloid-β aggregation, tau hyperphosphorylation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Emerging evidence indicates that the gut microbiota plays a critical role in modulating neuroinflammatory, and metabolic pathways involved in AD pathogenesis through the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Objective: This systematic review aims to comprehensively evaluate the role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in Alzheimer's disease, with a particular focus on its mechanistic links to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and amyloid pathology, as well as its therapeutic potential. Methodology: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, focusing on studies evaluating gut microbiota composition, metabolomic changes, oxidative stress markers, mitochondrial activity, and therapeutic interventions in AD models and patients. Results: Altered gut microbial composition in AD is associated with increased pro-inflammatory taxa (Escherichia-Shigella, Bacteroides) and depletion of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing bacteria (Faecalibacterium, Roseburia). Dysbiosis contributes to systemic inflammation, disrupted intestinal permeability, and microglial activation, leading to oxidative damage and mitochondrial impairment in neurons. Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation can restore redox balance, reduce neuroinflammation, and improve cognitive outcomes. Multi-omics and AI-based models are emerging as tools for identifying microbiome-derived biomarkers for early AD detection. Conclusion: The gut microbiota-mitochondria-oxidative stress axis represents a promising therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease. Future research should focus on longitudinal human studies, standardized microbial profiling, and personalized microbiome-based interventions to translate these mechanistic insights into clinical benefit.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Yang M, Chen Q, Meng Z, et al (2026)

The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Insomnia: Mechanisms and Intervention Strategies.

Life (Basel, Switzerland), 16(4): pii:life16040583.

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders. Traditionally, its pathophysiology has been interpreted mainly from the perspective of the central nervous system (CNS). However, accumulating evidence suggests that the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA), a bidirectional communication network linking the gut and the CNS, may play an important role in the development, maintenance, and treatment of insomnia. This review summarizes the major signaling pathways of the MGBA and discusses its potential mechanisms in insomnia. Current evidence indicates that gut microbiota and their metabolites may influence sleep-wake homeostasis through neural, immune, endocrine, and circadian pathways. At the same time, insomnia-related stress responses, immune imbalance, and lifestyle disturbances may in turn affect the gut microbiota, thereby forming a bidirectional regulatory network. Animal and clinical studies further support a close association between gut microbial dysbiosis and insomnia. In addition, this review systematically summarizes factors that may affect the MGBA, including diet, lifestyle, psychosocial stress, medications, and medical exposures. On this basis, MGBA-targeted interventions, such as dietary modification, prebiotics and probiotics, lifestyle interventions, fecal microbiota transplantation, and natural medicines, may provide promising new strategies for the prevention and treatment of insomnia. Nevertheless, the current evidence still relies largely on animal studies and cross-sectional research, and further longitudinal studies and high-quality interventional trials are needed to clarify causality, long-term efficacy, and standardized therapeutic approaches.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Ichim C, Boicean A, Mihaila R, et al (2026)

Effect of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on Arterial Stiffness in Alcohol-Related Liver Cirrhosis: A Prospective Pilot Study.

Life (Basel, Switzerland), 16(4): pii:life16040668.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related liver disease is frequently associated with systemic vascular dysfunction and increased arterial stiffness. This may contribute to adverse clinical outcomes. Modulation of the gut microbiota through fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy in liver cirrhosis, but its influence on vascular stiffness in humans remains insufficiently characterized.

METHODS: This prospective study evaluated arterial stiffness in patients with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis undergoing FMT. A control group received standard care. Vascular stiffness was assessed non-invasively using an oscillometric arteriograph based on pulse wave analysis. Measurements were performed at baseline and at one and three months after FMT under standardized conditions. The main indices assessed included aortic pulse wave velocity, augmentation index, ejection duration and return time. Direct microbiome sequencing and metabolomic profiling were not performed.

RESULTS: At baseline, the study and control groups had comparable vascular stiffness profiles. Only minor differences in selected hemodynamic parameters were observed. At one month after intervention, no statistically significant differences in arterial stiffness indices were observed between groups. Longitudinal analysis within the FMT group also showed no significant changes in direct markers of arterial stiffness across the three-month follow-up period. A non-significant tendency toward reduced ejection duration was noted.

CONCLUSIONS: In patients with advanced alcohol-related liver cirrhosis, FMT did not produce measurable short-term improvements in arterial stiffness. These findings suggest that short-term vascular effects of microbiota modulation may be difficult to detect in patients with advanced alcohol-related liver cirrhosis. Larger studies including earlier-stage patients, longer follow-up and direct microbiome and metabolomic assessment are needed to clarify potential vascular effects of FMT.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Zheng M, Wei X, Chen R, et al (2026)

The Gut Microbiota and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Research and Therapeutic Insights.

Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 16(4): pii:bs16040559.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a collective term for neurodevelopmental disorders with core features of social communication impairment, restricted and repetitive behaviors, and narrow interests. These include classic autism, Asperger's syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. ASD is currently managed with behavioral interventions, rehabilitation training, and family support, but there is no curative medication. Recent studies suggest that some patients with ASD may experience gastrointestinal symptoms. Perhaps this is associated with the disturbances of gut microbiota. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that the composition of gut microbiota in ASD individuals is different from that in normal population and may be associated with neurodevelopmental processes via the gut-brain axis. This article reviews the evidence for the association between gut microbiota and ASD, describes the characteristics of microbial changes, and analyzes the mechanism by which changes in the composition of the microbiota affect the occurrence and development of ASD. Finally, we review recent advances in microbiota-targeted therapeutic strategies, including probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, which provide new approaches to alleviate and improve autism-related symptoms and point out the future research direction.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Papacocea RI, Iliuță FP, IR Papacocea (2026)

Gut Microbiome Dysregulation Across Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Bacteria-, Fungi- and Virome-Level Alterations with Molecular and Immunological Implications.

International journal of molecular sciences, 27(8): pii:ijms27083372.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are severe psychiatric conditions characterized by disturbances in cognition, emotion, and behavior, with increasing evidence suggesting an involvement of the gut microbiome in their pathophysiology. This PRISMA-informed structured review synthesizes 114 studies using a taxa-centered framework that maps microbial changes across SSD stages and phenotypes and serves as a structural basis for identifying cross-study patterns. Across heterogeneous cohorts, convergent alterations include depletion of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing taxa (including Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Coprococcus) and enrichment of potentially pro-inflammatory and fermentative taxa (such as Proteobacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus, Collinsella, and Desulfovibrio). These taxonomic patterns suggest potential functional alterations, including reduced SCFA availability. Reduced abundance of butyrate-producing taxa has been associated with impaired intestinal barrier function and increased microbial translocation (e.g., lipopolysaccharide), which may contribute to the activation of immune pathways, including Toll-like receptor 4 signaling and elevated inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and TNF-α. Additional alterations reported across studies include changes in lactate metabolism, bile acid profiles, aromatic amino acid metabolism, and the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway. These pathways may interact with neurobiological processes relevant to SSD, including glutamate-GABA balance, NMDA receptor function, microglial activation, and synaptic regulation, although much of the current evidence remains associative. Multi-kingdom studies and fecal microbiota transplantation models provide further support for the functional relevance of these observations, though causal relationships remain to be fully established. Overall, SSD-associated dysbiosis appears to reflect ecosystem-level metabolic alterations rather than isolated taxonomic abnormalities, supporting a Microbiota-Gut-Immune-Glia conceptual framework and highlighting the gut ecosystem as a potential therapeutic target.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Ratajczyk K, Kaczorowska E, Wyka K, et al (2026)

Gut-Brain Signaling in Parkinson's Disease: A Narrative Review.

International journal of molecular sciences, 27(8): pii:ijms27083531.

The formulation of the gut-brain-microbiota axis (GBA) theory has led to new research directions that have expanded our understanding of the pathogenesis, phenotypic variability, and clinical course of Parkinson's disease (PD). Models of PD pathogenesis, based on the Braak hypothesis, suggest a subtype of the disease in which pathological changes begin in the gut many years before the onset of brain pathology and the manifestation of motor symptoms. Gut microbiota may influence nervous system function along the GBA by influencing intestinal permeability, chronic inflammation, and α-synuclein aggregation. Accumulating evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may also regulate the synthesis and metabolism of neurotransmitters, including dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), acetylcholine (ACh) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), both in the gut and brain, and indirectly stimulate central nervous system activity via the vagus nerve, which receives signals from the enteric nervous system. Research on the effects of microbiota on GBA has paved the way for the identification of novel treatment strategies, including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, antibiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), aimed at not only symptomatic but also disease-modifying treatment of PD. In this article, we propose a novel approach to GBA as a link between gut microbiota and gut and brain neurotransmitter metabolism in PD. We review the latest research on the gut epithelial barrier. We analyze and summarize the potential of therapeutic interventions targeting gut microbiota and their impact on neurotransmitter regulation in PD.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Zhang X, Chen F, Luo Y, et al (2026)

Young Human-Derived Microbiota Ameliorates Cognitive Decline and Reproductive Senescence in Aged Mice.

Nutrients, 18(8): pii:nu18081193.

Background/Objectives: Age-related gut microbiota dysbiosis leads to systemic oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and multi-organ functional decline. However, there is limited evidence supporting microbiota-based therapies for aging. This study aimed to examine the effect of gut microbiota from young donors, particularly those with increasing Bifidobacteria levels through dietary intervention, on age-related declines in fertility, cognition, and reproduction. Methods: We conducted experiments using gut microbiota from young human donors, with or without pre-conditioning with barley leaves (BL), to transplant into aged male mice. Hippocampal metabolome and behavioral assessments were used to identify differences in recognitive regulation during aging. Moreover, testis tissue, semen quality, and offspring studies were determined to investigate the beneficial effects on fertility and underlying mechanism. Conclusions: This preliminary dietary treatment promotes the growth of Bifidobacterium in aged recipient mice. Aged male mice received young fecal microbiota transplants (yFMTs), BL-conditioned yFMTs (BLyFMTs), and a combined treatment of BLyFMT plus recipient BL supplementation. The combined approach significantly increased intestinal Bifidobacterium levels and effectively restored hippocampal metabolomic profiles and cognitive behavior. Additionally, yFMT-based treatments mitigated structural damage to the seminiferous tubules and prevented the germ cell depletion. Consistently, those interventions improved sperm quality and mechanistically enhanced hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis activity in aged recipients. These findings highlight Bifidobacterium as a key factor in microbiome-driven rejuvenation, enhancing the effectiveness of yFMTs in addressing aging-related declines.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Asayesh M, Nazarzadeh A, Jamshidi S, et al (2026)

Modulation of Gut Microbiota Through Dietary Fibers to Enhance Regulatory T Cell-Based Immunotherapy in GVHD Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Nutrients, 18(8): pii:nu18081216.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is one of the principal complications seen in the recipients of allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), and persists as a leading cause of post-transplant morbidity and mortality. Increasing evidence highlights the crucial influence of the gut microbiome (GM) on transplant outcomes. Microbial dysbiosis, characterized by reduced bacterial diversity and pathogenic overgrowth, is strongly associated with higher rates of complications and mortality. Patients with lower microbial diversity exhibit poorer overall survival (OS) and an increased incidence of acute GVHD (aGVHD). Conversely, restoration of beneficial commensal communities has been shown to enhance immune homeostasis, mitigate GVHD severity, and decrease infection risk. Emerging therapeutic strategies now focus on modulating the intestinal microbiome through dietary interventions, probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). It has been demonstrated that bacterial metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from the diet, especially a diet rich in fibers, reduce the occurrence/severity of GVHD by inducing regulatory T cells (Tregs), which release anti-inflammatory cytokines and regulate the host immune system. Hence, the implementation of dietary fibers (DFs) could increase beneficial commensals, Treg induction, and improve outcomes such as GVHD and OS in recipients of allo-HCT. Hereupon, this review addresses how a fiber-rich diet modulates GM composition, reinforces epithelial barrier integrity, and improves the efficacy of Treg-based immunotherapy by stabilizing their regulatory phenotype and increasing their functional persistence, ultimately leading to a reduction in GI complications associated with GVHD. Unlike prior reviews that primarily cover the microbiome-GVHD axis or Treg therapies in isolation, this review emphasizes fermentable dietary fibers as a mechanistically grounded, clinically actionable strategy to support Treg stability and persistence via microbiota-derived metabolites. We integrate mechanistic evidence with emerging clinical feasibility data and ongoing trials of prebiotic supplementation in allogeneic HSCT.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Burdette RA, Whitt CC, Cios Phillips KJ, et al (2026)

Treating Initial and Recurrent C. difficile: A Retrospective Analysis of 100 Referred Patients.

Microorganisms, 14(4): pii:microorganisms14040911.

Treatment guidelines for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) have been published by infectious disease and gastroenterology professional societies; however, adherence in clinical practice remains poorly characterized, particularly for recurrent disease. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 100 patients with CDI (350 episodes: 115 initial, 235 recurrent) referred to a tertiary complicated CDI clinic between 2018 and 2023. Guideline adherence was assessed by comparing treatment with IDSA/SHEA and ACG recommendations, and referring diagnoses were compared with final specialist diagnoses. Guideline adherence was significantly higher in initial compared to recurrent episodes (70.4% vs. 41.3%, p < 0.0001). Among guideline non-adherent recurrent episodes, 51.3% used standard antibiotic regimens inappropriate for the recurrence tier. Specialist review reclassified 12.0% of episodes, with colonization increasing from 2.6% to 8.9%. Misdiagnosed colonization cases had a 6.2-fold higher treatment failure rate than confirmed CDI (39.3% vs. 6.3%, p < 0.0001). Guideline non-adherence showed a non-significant trend toward treatment failure (10.0% vs. 6.7%, p = 0.31). Guideline adherence for recurrent CDI is inadequate in pre-referral settings, and diagnostic misclassification is common. Early specialist involvement may improve both diagnostic accuracy and treatment appropriateness for patients with recurrent CDI.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Lagos I, Pérez de Arce E, Faggiani I, et al (2026)

The Role of Microbiota and Fecal Transplantation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 15(4): pii:pathogens15040451.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), are consistently associated with alterations in gut microbial communities, although the extent and characteristics of these alterations vary across studies, supporting a potential role of the microbiota in disease pathogenesis and therapeutic modulation. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize current evidence on microbiota alterations in IBD and the clinical application of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). A total of 118 studies were included (76 focused on microbiota profiling and 42 evaluated FMT as therapy). Across heterogeneous study designs and microbial characterization methods, reduced microbial diversity was the most consistently reported alteration, generally more pronounced in CD than in UC. Depletion of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii-a key butyrate producer with anti-inflammatory properties-was commonly reported, often accompanied by functional impairment in short-chain fatty acid production. Microbial patterns were frequently associated with mucosal inflammation and varied across disease phenotypes; these patterns have been increasingly explored as predictors of treatment response and relapse, although mechanistic interpretation remains limited and causal relationships are difficult to establish. Evidence from randomized controlled trials suggests potential efficacy of FMT in UC, particularly with intensive or repeated protocols, whereas data in CD remain limited and heterogeneous, with signals of benefit often appearing transient. FMT was generally well tolerated, but long-term safety data remain scarce. Emerging multi-omic approaches are reshaping the field by integrating taxonomic and functional insights, with potential implications for risk stratification, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic optimization. Further standardized, longitudinal, and mechanistically oriented studies are required to translate microbiome research into clinically actionable strategies in IBD.

RevDate: 2026-05-04
CmpDate: 2026-05-04

Wu J, Qiu Y, Deng J, et al (2026)

Faecal microbiota transplantation and glucolipid metabolic disorders: the interventional role of gut microbiota.

Frontiers in endocrinology, 17:1806638.

Glucolipid metabolic disorders (GLMD) have emerged as a significant global public health issue, posing a significant threat to human health. With changes in modern social structures and an ageing population, the incidence of GLMD is on the rise and is increasingly affecting younger populations. Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) directly modifies the gut microbiota to reestablish its equilibrium and metabolites, consequently reinstating gut barrier integrity, mitigating chronic low-grade inflammation, and affecting the onset and progression of GLMD through the regulation of the gut-liver axis. This paper reviews the application of FMT in the treatment of GLMD, emphasizing research outcomes and efficacy assessments in clinical trials and animal studies. As a simple and secure intervention, FMT is anticipated to provide new therapeutic alternatives for GLMD patients in the future with the deepening of relevant research, the screening of specific probiotics and the revelation of functional mechanisms. This paper aims to clarify the potential mechanism of FMT in addressing GLMD, summarise recent research developments in this field, and anticipate the opportunities and challenges of FMT in clinical application.

RevDate: 2026-05-01
CmpDate: 2026-05-01

Yu B, Zhao WW, Tao L, et al (2026)

The microbiota-gut-brain axis perspective: mechanisms and intervention strategies for the comorbidity of chronic constipation and depression.

Frontiers in microbiology, 17:1800520.

BACKGROUND: Chronic constipation and depression are highly prevalent worldwide. These two conditions frequently co-occur in clinical practice. Accumulating evidence indicates that gut microbiota dysbiosis mediates this comorbidity through the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA).

METHODS: This narrative review systematically summarizes current research on MGBA bidirectional communication mechanisms, gut microbiota alterations in comorbid patients, and microbiota-targeted intervention strategies.

RESULTS: The MGBA facilitates bidirectional communication through four major pathways: neural pathways via the vagus nerve, immune pathways via cytokines, endocrine pathways via the HPA axis, and metabolic pathways via short-chain fatty acids and neurotransmitter precursors. Gut dysbiosis is associated with comorbidity and may contribute to its pathogenesis through multiple mechanisms. First, neurotransmitter metabolism becomes dysregulated, particularly in the serotonin and GABA systems. Second, chronic low-grade inflammation develops with elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines. Third, intestinal barrier dysfunction occurs, leading to increased permeability and bacterial translocation. Fourth, HPA axis hyperactivity emerges. Fifth, production of microbial metabolites is altered, including short-chain fatty acids and tryptophan metabolites. Comorbid patients exhibit characteristic microbiota signatures. These include reduced abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria such as Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Coprococcus. Microbial diversity decreases significantly. Pro-inflammatory taxa become enriched. Several evidence-based interventions show promise. These include psychobiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and dietary modifications such as Mediterranean diet and high-fiber intake. Exercise and integrative approaches including traditional Chinese medicine also demonstrate beneficial effects.

CONCLUSION: The gut microbiota represents a critical hub connecting gastrointestinal and mental health. Microbiota-targeted therapies offer promising strategies for managing chronic constipation-depression comorbidity. Future research should establish causal relationships and develop reliable microbial biomarkers. Precision medicine approaches based on individual microbiome profiles are needed to optimize therapeutic outcomes.

RevDate: 2026-05-01

Fang Q, Huang S, Zhang C, et al (2026)

Capsaicin ameliorates glycemic levels via gut microbiota-derived 5-aminolevulinic acid in mice.

Microbiome pii:10.1186/s40168-026-02415-8 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Capsaicin, a natural alkaloid in chili peppers, regulates glycemic levels; however, its mechanisms and therapeutic potential remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the role of gut microbiota and their metabolites in mediating capsaicin's glycemic regulatory effects. We conducted experiments in specific pathogen-free (SPF) and germ-free (GF) mice, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor ablation studies, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to demonstrate the involvement of gut microbiota in capsaicin-mediated glycemic control. Metagenomics and metabolomics analyses were employed to identify key microbial strains and metabolic pathways. Keystone strains and metabolites were supplemented in GF mice without capsaicin intervention to validate their effects on glycemic regulation. In vitro co-culture experiments were performed to investigate the mutualistic relationships among keystone strains under capsaicin treatment.

RESULTS: Gut microbiota constitute an important component of capsaicin-mediated glycemic regulation, acting in concert with but not solely dependent on TRPV1 signaling. Gut microbiota altered by capsaicin promote the production of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), which contributes to heme synthesis and enhances glycemic control. Supplementation with Akkermansia muciniphila, Ligilactobacillus murinus, or 5-ALA in GF mice recapitulates the glycemic benefits of capsaicin. Furthermore, capsaicin enriches Akkermansia muciniphila, which in turn supports the growth of Ligilactobacillus murinus.

CONCLUSION: Capsaicin-induced changes in the gut microbiota promote 5-ALA synthesis, leading to improved glycemic control. These findings suggest that dietary or probiotic interventions targeting gut microbiota, particularly Akkermansia muciniphila and 5-ALA, may offer promising strategies for managing glycemic disorders, including type 2 diabetes (T2D). Video Abstract.

RevDate: 2026-05-02
CmpDate: 2026-05-02

Chen S, Feng H, Wang Y, et al (2026)

Intestinal epithelial Syndecan-1 maintains mucosal homeostasis in inflammatory bowel disease by enhancing Faecalibacterium prausnitzii biofilm formation.

Gut microbes, 18(1):2665870.

Despite the rising global incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), curative therapies remain unavailable. While our previous work implicated the intestinal proteoglycan Syndecan-1 (SDC1) in IBD-associated barrier dysfunction and inflammation, the underlying mechanism was unclear. This study aimed to elucidate how SDC1 maintains intestinal barrier integrity through interactions with the gut microbiome. In DSS-induced colitis, global knockout of Sdc1 (Sdc1[-/-]) exhibited exacerbated inflammatory infiltration and greater impairment of barrier structure and function than wild-type (WT). Formation of intestinal organoids was independent of genotype, indicating that Sdc1[-/-] does not impair barrier function via disrupting epithelial development. The heightened colitis susceptibility in Sdc1[-/-] mice was abolished in the antibiotic-treated pseudo-germ-free models, and transmissible to WT mice via fecal microbiota transplantation. Similar results were reproduced in a germ-free mouse model. Metagenomic sequencing identified Faecalibacterium prausnitzii as the most significantly depleted species upon Sdc1 knockout. In vitro, SDC1-attached glycosaminoglycans (heparan sulfate (HS) and chondroitin sulfate (CS)) but not the SDC1 core protein promoted F. prausnitzii growth. Prokaryotic transcriptome profiling indicated that HS/CS induces cobalamin biosynthesis in F. prausnitzii. The critical role of cobalamin as a mediator was confirmed, as its synthetic inhibition significantly diminished the growth-promoting effect of HS/CS. Mechanism studies showed that HS/CS enhanced biofilm formation in F. prausnitzii, thereby facilitating cobalamin biosynthesis. Oral administration of HS ameliorated DSS-induced colitis and promoted mucosal colonization of F. prausnitzii, independent of the host genotype. Finally, human IBD biopsies revealed a positive correlation between epithelial SDC1 and mucosal F. prausnitzii, as well as an inverse correlation with bacterial translocation and the number of LPS‑positive cells. Our study elucidates a novel mechanism in which the glycosaminoglycan chains of SDC1 promote F. prausnitzii colonization and growth through enhanced biofilm formation and cobalamin synthesis, thereby highlighting the therapeutic potential of HS for IBD and offering a new basis for host-directed microbiota regulation.

RevDate: 2026-05-02

Kanannejad Z, Taylor WR, Ghatee MA, et al (2026)

Microbial regulation of immune tolerance during embryonic implantation and pregnancy.

Journal of reproductive immunology, 175:104898 pii:S0165-0378(26)00067-7 [Epub ahead of print].

Maternal immune tolerance is essential for successful embryo implantation and maintenance of pregnancy. The maternal microbiome, particularly in the gut, vagina, and possibly the placenta, has emerged as an important regulator of immune adaptation during gestation. Through continuous interaction with the maternal immune system, the microbiota influence key immune cell populations such as regulatory T cells, uterine natural killer cells, and dendritic cells. These cells promote a tolerogenic environment necessary for embryo acceptance and proper placental development. Microbial-derived metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids and tryptophan derivatives, play important roles in modulating cytokine production and immune cell differentiation. Disruption of microbial balance, or dysbiosis, has been associated with a range of pregnancy complications, including implantation failure, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth. Additionally, the maternal microbiome may influence fetal immune development, with implications for the offspring's long-term health. Emerging translational research suggests that interventions targeting the maternal microbiota, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, may beneficially modulate immune responses during pregnancy. While these approaches are promising, variability in individual microbiome composition and immune responses underscores the need for personalized strategies. In summary, the maternal microbiome is a dynamic and influential factor in shaping immune tolerance during pregnancy. A deeper understanding of microbiota-immune interactions may pave the way for novel, microbiome-based therapies to enhance reproductive outcomes and promote maternal-fetal health.

RevDate: 2026-04-30

Jang S, Kim YJ, Park J, et al (2026)

A Muribaculaceae-enriched microbiota exacerbates TLR4-dependent Acinetobacter baumannii-induced hyperinflammatory sepsis.

Nature communications pii:10.1038/s41467-026-72435-3 [Epub ahead of print].

Host survival during sepsis depends not only on pathogen burden but also on inflammatory thresholds calibrated by the gut microbiota. Here, we show that different survival outcomes were observed in genetically equivalent female C57BL/6 mouse populations depending on their specific gut microbiota configuration. A Muribaculaceae-enriched gut microbiota, characterized by the dominance of Sangeribacter muris KT1-3, predisposed mice to fatal sepsis caused by Acinetobacter baumannii via TLR4-dependent hyperinflammation. This lethal phenotype, reproduced by colonization with S. muris strain KT1-3, was transferable by fecal microbiota transplantation and co-housing. Notably, fixed-dose LPS challenge and ex vivo stimulation assays demonstrated that this configuration induces a heightened TLR4-dependent inflammatory responsiveness independent of bacterial replication. Single-cell transcriptomics revealed that these microbiota-derived factors establish a transcriptionally pre-activated macrophage state, resulting in production of excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines upon challenge. Mechanistically, S. muris strain KT1-3 releases heat-stable and low-molecular-weight (<3 kDa) metabolites that are sufficient to potentiate systemic cytokine surges under a fixed-dose endotoxin challenge in vivo, effectively lowering the host's activation threshold for TLR4-driven signaling. Tlr4-deficient mice harboring the KT1-3-enriched susceptible microbiota survived despite persistent bacterial dissemination, demonstrating that the microbiota-TLR4 axis dictates hyperinflammatory A. baumannii-induced sepsis outcomes by modulating inflammatory magnitude rather than pathogen clearance. Our results provide a conceptual framework for how specific gut microbiota configurations modulate host susceptibility and drive infection resilience.

RevDate: 2026-05-01

Duan L, Liang J, Zhang W, et al (2026)

EtCBN-associated olfactory dysfunction involves Irf7 signaling and a microbiota-metabolite axis.

Chemico-biological interactions, 434:112109 pii:S0009-2797(26)00217-6 [Epub ahead of print].

Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are emerging environmental contaminants with neurotoxic potential; however, their impact on olfactory function, a key early indicator of neurodegenerative diseases, is unknown. Here, we observed that exposure to LCM mixtures at an environmentally relevant dose (180 μg/kg) was associated with olfactory deficits in mice. Further investigation focused on a prevalent LCM monomer (EtCBN) found in indoor dust, a compound known to disrupt endothelial cell proliferation, as a key component of this effect. Mice exposed to environmentally relevant (20 μg/kg) or elevated (200 μg/kg) EtCBN for 12 weeks exhibited significant olfactory impairment, supported by behavioral deficits, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based olfactory bulb atrophy, histopathological changes, and neuroinflammation. Molecular docking predicted that EtCBN may interact with Irf7 with a binding energy of -4.86 kcal/mol, suggesting a potential interaction that could serve as a candidate molecular initiating event (MIE). This interaction was associated with elevated IL-1β and TNF-α levels and may be linked to the onset of neuroinflammation. In addition, a reduced abundance of Dubosiella was found to correlate with phenylalanine accumulation, potentially further contributing to Irf7 activation through a microbiota-metabolite-inflammation axis. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and probiotic supplementation provided evidence suggesting a role for the intestinal microbiota. Exogenous nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD[+]) was observed to be associated with mitigation of these effects. Together, these findings are consistent with a proposed adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework that suggests a link between the EtCBN-Irf7 interaction and LCM-associated neurotoxicity, offering potential mechanistic insights and therapeutic targets for olfactory dysfunction.

RevDate: 2026-04-30
CmpDate: 2026-04-30

Korten NM, Blischke L, Thelen AC, et al (2026)

From gut to brain: effects of fecal microbiota transplants from humans to rats on hippocampal gene regulation - a study on anorexia nervosa.

Translational psychiatry, 16(1):.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as a novel approach for understanding anorexia nervosa (AN), a complex eating disorder characterized by severe underweight, fear of weight gain and distorted body image. Patients with AN show alterations in the gut microbiome, brain structure, and inflammatory processes, indicating the importance of the microbiome‒gut‒brain axis in AN pathology. This study aimed to investigate whether FMT from patients with AN into antibiotic-treated rats could transfer a phenotype associated with the disease inducing AN-like symptoms and hippocampal alterations. Female Wistar rats received antibiotics followed by FMT from healthy controls, patients with AN, or water. Gut microbiota effects were assessed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, alongside post-mortem analyses of glial cells, neurogenesis markers, and inflammatory markers. The results revealed dysregulated microbial diversity after antibiotic treatment, which was partially restored after FMT. Successful transfer of human bacterial species was observed, but AN-like symptoms and changes in glial/neuronal counts were not detected. Notably, a decrease in hippocampal Bdnf expression was detected in the antibiotic control group, which was reversed by healthy control stool transplantation but not in the AN-transplanted group. Similar patterns were observed for neuroinflammation and Mki67, a marker of cell neogenesis. These findings suggest potential links between microbial changes, neuroinflammation and neuroplasticity in the hippocampus with the potential to correct deficits with FMT. Future studies should extend these findings by exploring the combination of FMT and starvation phases to better understand the roles of specific microbial populations in neuroinflammatory processes and, ultimately, clinical outcomes in AN.

RevDate: 2026-04-29

Wu XM, Hou LY, Liu C, et al (2026)

Targeting the Gut Microbiota-Bile Acid-FXR Axis: The Therapeutic Mechanism of Yudantong Decoction in Cholestatic Liver Disease.

Current medical science [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the therapeutic mechanism of Yudantong decoction (YDTD) in cholestatic liver disease (CLD), focusing on the gut microbiota-bile acid-intestinal farnesoid X receptor (FXR) axis.

METHODS: A CLD mouse model induced by α-naphthylisothiocyanate was treated with YDTD. Hepatic injury, gut microbiota composition (16S rRNA sequencing), bile acid profiles (high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, HPLC-MS/MS), intestinal FXR/NLRP3 signaling, and barrier function were assessed. Fecal microbiota transplantation, bile salt hydrolase (BSH) inhibition, and FXR antagonism were employed for mechanistic validation.

RESULTS: CLD mice exhibited hepatocellular steatosis, lobular necrosis, and elevated serum markers. These pathological changes were associated with gut dysbiosis, impaired bile acid metabolism via bile salt hydrolase (BSH) suppression, FXR signaling inhibition, and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. YDTD restored BSH activity and bile acid homeostasis, upregulated FXR expression, suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and improved intestinal barrier integrity. Fecal microbiota transplantation experiments confirmed that YDTD-modified microbiota mediated these therapeutic benefits, whereas pharmacological inhibition of BSH or FXR attenuated YDTD's therapeutic effects.

CONCLUSION: YDTD alleviates CLD, at least in part, by targeting the gut microbiota-bile acid-FXR signaling pathway, highlighting the gut microbiota as a promising therapeutic target for CLD.

RevDate: 2026-04-29
CmpDate: 2026-04-29

Yuan C, Wang M, Yuan Y, et al (2026)

High-Salt Diet Promotes Kidney Stone Formation Through Gut Microbiota-Dependent Inflammatory Pathways.

FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 40(9):e71854.

High salt intake is a recognized risk factor for calcium oxalate (CaOx) kidney stones, but the underlying biological mechanisms beyond urinary calcium excretion remain unclear. We investigated whether a high-salt diet promotes CaOx stone formation through gut microbiota-dependent inflammatory pathways involving trimethylamine (TMA), trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), and NF-κB signaling. In a clinical cohort of 153 subjects, high salt intake was independently associated with CaOx stones after multivariable adjustment (adjusted OR 2.52, 95% CI 1.10-5.94, p = 0.031). The gut microbiota of high-salt diet stone formers was enriched for inflammation-associated bacteria and NF-κB, tight junction, and sodium-calcium reabsorption pathways. In C57BL/6J mice, a one-month high-salt diet disrupted intestinal barrier integrity, induced renal inflammation with elevated TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, and increased CaOx crystal deposition. 16S rRNA sequencing showed depletion of beneficial genera (Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium) and enrichment of TMA-producing bacteria. Cecal TMA and plasma TMAO were elevated in high-salt mice, while urinary TMA and TMAO were reduced, indicating impaired renal metabolite clearance. Fecal microbiota transplantation from high-salt diet donors reproduced the elevated TMAO, renal inflammation, and crystal deposition in recipient mice, confirming a causal role for the gut microbiota. In vitro, TMA disrupted tight junction proteins in Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells, and TMAO activated NF-κB and increased CaOx crystal adhesion in HK-2 renal tubular cells; both effects were reversed by the NF-κB inhibitor QNZ. These findings identify the gut microbiota-TMA/TMAO-NF-κB axis as a mechanism linking high salt intake to CaOx kidney stone formation.

RevDate: 2026-04-29

Ao RF, Huang YS, Hu YT, et al (2026)

Intermittent fasting alleviates hyperalgesia in ovariectomized mice via gut microbiota remodeling.

NPJ biofilms and microbiomes pii:10.1038/s41522-026-00990-0 [Epub ahead of print].

Pain is a common symptom of menopause, yet effective therapeutic options are limited. Intermittent fasting (IF) has emerged as a promising dietary intervention; however, its effects on menopausal pain are still unclear. In this study, we established a hyperalgesia model in mice through ovariectomy (OVX) and subjected them to an alternate-day fasting regimen. IF significantly elevated the pain thresholds for mechanical, hot and cold stimuli in OVX mice and reduced the expression of pain-related molecules, including transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Moreover, IF remodeled the gut microbiota and metabolite profile, marked by a substantial increase in the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila and its key metabolite, indole-3-propionic acid (IPA). Depletion of the gut microbiota via antibiotic treatment abolished the analgesic effects of IF on OVX-induced hyperalgesia. Conversely, fecal microbiota transplantation from IF-treated donors restored microbial composition and alleviated hyperalgesia in OVX recipients. Administration of A. muciniphila increased IPA levels and alleviated hyperalgesia in OVX mice. Importantly, exogenous IPA supplementation not only alleviated hyperalgesia but also reduced the excitability of DRG neurons. Together, these findings demonstrate that IF mitigates estrogen deficiency-related hyperalgesia through remodeling gut microbiota and metabolite profile, and identify IPA as a potential therapeutic target, offering new perspectives for the clinical management of menopausal pain.

RevDate: 2026-04-30

Cheng C, Wang J, Xie J, et al (2026)

Gut microbiota and pancreatic cancer: tumorigenesis, progression, and clinical applications.

Cancer biology & medicine pii:j.issn.2095-3941.2025.0650 [Epub ahead of print].

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies of the digestive system, with a 5-year survival rate of only 13%, which is largely due to late-stage diagnosis and limited therapeutic options. Emerging evidence indicates that the gut microbiota has a critical role in PDAC tumorigenesis, progression, and therapeutic response. This review comprehensively summarizes current insights into gut microbiota-PDAC interactions, highlighting microbial alterations across taxonomic, functional, and clinical dimensions. Gut dysbiosis, which is marked by depletion of beneficial species and enrichment of pathogenic taxa, contributes to carcinogenesis through chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and metabolic reprogramming. In particular, the loss of butyrate-producing bacteria reduces anti-inflammatory activity and weakens CD8[+] T cell function, thereby promoting tumor development. In addition to initiation, the gut microbiota also shapes PDAC progression through direct translocation to pancreatic tissue and systemic regulation of the tumor microenvironment (TME), influencing immune cell dynamics and fostering therapeutic resistance. Clinically, distinct microbial signatures are emerging as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Moreover, microbiota-targeted interventions, including probiotics, synbiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), metabolite supplementation, and dietary modulation, show promise as adjunctive therapeutic strategies. However, significant challenges remain in defining causal mechanisms and translating these findings into practice. Future research should integrate multi-omics profiling with well-designed clinical trials to delineate the gut microbiota-PDAC interaction network, guide precision microbiota-based interventions, and ultimately enable earlier detection and personalized treatment of this lethal disease.

RevDate: 2026-04-30
CmpDate: 2026-04-30

Qu HL, Li JN, Gao Y, et al (2026)

From association to intervention: Semantic trajectories and knowledge frontiers in epilepsy-gut microbiota research revealed by bibliometrics and NLP.

IBRO neuroscience reports, 20:609-624.

BACKGROUND: Research on the epilepsy-gut microbiota axis is accelerating, yet its conceptual evolution and translational signals remain difficult to track across disciplines. Here, we propose a semantic-bibliometric fusion framework that combines network-based science mapping with phrase- and topic-level natural language processing (NLP) to resolve both structural and linguistic dynamics in the field.

METHODS: Publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from January 1997 to November 17, 2025 were retrieved and analyzed using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Pajek, and Scimago Graphica, complemented by an NLP pipeline for topic modeling and temporal phrase tracking. In total, 516 records were included.

RESULTS: Annual output rose sharply after 2021 and peaked in 2024, with China and the United States leading contributions. Beyond conventional hotspots, semantic analyzes revealed a field-wide shift from early infection/safety-oriented discourse to mechanism- and intervention-driven themes dominated by the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

CONCLUSION: The most prominent and expanding intervention clusters involved the ketogenic diet, short-chain fatty acids, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, while "Mendelian randomization" emerged as a nascent frontier signaling movement from correlation to causal inference. By integrating knowledge-network topology with discourse dynamics, this study delivers an up-to-date, multi-resolution map of epilepsy-microbiome research and highlights actionable directions for future work, including causal validation, multi-omics stratification, and trial-ready microbiome-informed interventions.

RevDate: 2026-04-30
CmpDate: 2026-04-30

Hegde AV, Gupta S, Mohan LN, et al (2026)

Unforeseen consequence of colovesical fistula in diverticulitis presenting as septic cellulitis: A case report.

World journal of methodology, 16(2):111784.

BACKGROUND: Colovesical fistula (CVF) is an uncommon but serious complication most often linked to diverticular disease of the colon. Its diagnosis can be at times challenging as the symptoms are nonspecific, and timely intervention is crucial to avoid morbidity.

CASE SUMMARY: A 65-year-old Indian male was admitted with right lower limb cellulitis and was in septic shock. Despite initial management, he remained oliguric with persistent loose stools. On post-fasciotomy day 4, fecaluria was noted, prompting suspicion of a bowel-urinary tract fistula. Microscopic urine examination confirmed fecal matter. A computed tomography urogram with cystogram revealed a CVF at the sigmoid colon, likely secondary to diverticulitis. Baseline carcinoembryonic antigen levels were normal. An exploratory laparotomy was performed, which revealed dense adhesions between the sigmoid colon and bladder were noted, and the findings were consistent with diverticulitis though no discrete diverticulum was separately visualized. The fistulous tract was excised (frozen section was negative for malignancy), a two-layer bladder repair was performed, and the affected sigmoid colon segment was resected using a Hartmann's procedure. Multiple bladder washes were also done. Postoperatively, the patient recovered well, with resolution of oliguria and diarrhea. He was discharged on postoperative day 8. Histopathology confirmed diverticulitis without malignancy. A successful stoma reversal occurred 2 months later, and he remained symptom-free at the 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION: CVF should be considered in cases of persistent urinary symptoms or fecaluria, particularly in patients with risk factors such as older age and diverticular disease, even in regions with low incidence of colonic diverticula. Early diagnosis using imaging modalities and prompt surgical management are key to favorable outcomes.

RevDate: 2026-04-30

Böhm D, Guchelaar HJ, Smidt ML, et al (2026)

Microbiome-Modulating Strategies in Anticancer Therapy: A Review of Current Evidence and Recommendations for Further Treatment Improvement.

Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-04-30

Zhao H, Akram MZ, Comer L, et al (2026)

Early gut microbiota transplantation in broiler chicks exerts effects on intestinal health depending on the donor's microbial composition.

Poultry science, 105(7):106999 pii:S0032-5791(26)00628-0 [Epub ahead of print].

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising strategy for modulating the gut microbiota to enhance broilers' health. This study investigated the effects of FMT of broilers (FMT1), laying hens (FMT2), and broiler breeders (FMT3) as donor on the intestinal health of chicks as recipients. A total of 144 newly hatched Ross 308 male broilers were randomly assigned to four groups and reared until D 14. For the first three days after hatching, the control group received 1 mL of saline daily via oral gavage, while the FMT groups received their respective inocula. Body weight, intestinal length, and ileal histomorphology were assessed on D 5, D 7, and D 14. In addition, on D 7 and D 14, ileal tissues and serum were collected. The expression of critical genes related to barrier function, nutrient transport, mitochondrial function, antioxidant defense, signal transduction, innate immunity, cytokine response, and programmed cell death were measured using high-throughput qPCR. Furthermore, serum metabolites related to tryptophan metabolism were also determined. Group differences were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) model was used to evaluate the interaction between observed changes and dominant microbiota. No significant effects on body weight or intestinal length were observed. On D 7, FMT1 induced innate immune stress, characterized by upregulated Toll-like receptor signaling, apoptosis, and mitochondrial biogenesis. In contrast, FMT2 and FMT3 improved intestinal histomorphology. Notably, FMT2 enhanced antioxidant defenses and changed tryptophan metabolism, while reducing reliance on glucose transporters. Meanwhile, FMT3 suppressed pyroptosis and enhanced barrier integrity. PLSR analysis identified 9 features that contribute over 30% of observed variations, with Olsenella, Blautia, and unclassified Lachnospiraceae being the most pronounced. By D 14, most effects had diminished, although antioxidant effects in FMT1 and immune markers in FMT2 and FMT3 persisted. Overall, FMT exerted donor-dependent patterns of influence on intestinal health, and our study proved programming of gut physiology through fecal microbiota transplantation.

RevDate: 2026-04-30

Su Q, Chen S, Lau LH, et al (2026)

Artificial intelligence-driven donor-recipient gut microbiome matching for optimized fecal microbiota transplantation.

Cell reports pii:S2211-1247(26)00379-7 [Epub ahead of print].

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as a promising therapy for gastrointestinal diseases, yet its clinical efficacy remains individually variable. Here, we analyze multi-kingdom and functional profiles in pre- and post-FMT metagenomes from 515 FMTs across 30 cohorts and 12 diseases, in which 94 metagenomes from 44 FMTs are newly collected. We reveal a robust association between clinical efficacy and post-FMT microbiome convergence of recipients toward donors, across diseases. To predict post-FMT microbial convergence, we develop MOZAIC (Microbiome Matching Optimization via Artificial Intelligence), a framework that integrates multi-dimensional donor-recipient microbiota features. MOZAIC achieves an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 and accuracy/recall >0.80 in forecasting microbiome convergence, with 78.7% accuracy in predicting clinical outcomes, and retrospectively simulates a 1.44-fold improvement (from 49.4% to 71.0%) in clinical response rates over baseline. This study establishes microbiome convergence as a key mediator of FMT and provides a scalable tool for precision matching in microbiota-based therapies.

RevDate: 2026-04-28

Parker G (2026)

Faecal Transplantation for Bipolar Disorder.

RevDate: 2026-04-28
CmpDate: 2026-04-28

Wang H, Wu Z, Zhang Y, et al (2026)

Fecal microbiota transplantation mitigates respiratory infection in rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia by modulating the NLRP3 inflammasome and mucosal immunity.

PloS one, 21(4):e0347857 pii:PONE-D-25-38097.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of the gut-lung axis in respiratory infection under hypobaric hypoxia and the therapeutic potential of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).

METHODS: Rats were exposed to hypobaric hypoxia (simulated 5000 m) for 14 days. Gut microbiota and serum short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were analyzed via 16S rRNA sequencing and GC-MS. Rats were then infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae and treated with FMT. Lung inflammation, NLRP3 inflammasome activity, cytokines, bacterial load, and secretory IgA (sIgA) were assessed.

RESULTS: Hypobaric hypoxia triggered gut dysbiosis, marked by reduced abundance of Firmicutes D and Lactobacillus, elevated Bacteroidota, and decreased SCFA levels..FMT restored microbiota composition, increased acetic and butyric acid levels, and attenuated lung inflammation. FMT also enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome activation (NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1), elevated IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in BALF, reduced bacterial colonies, and increased airway sIgA in infected rats.

CONCLUSIONS: FMT alleviates hypobaric hypoxia-aggravated respiratory infection by restoring gut microbiota, modulating SCFAs, and enhancing NLRP3-mediated mucosal immunity, highlighting the gut-lung axis as a therapeutic target.

RevDate: 2026-04-28

Hu JJ, Feng SY, Wu L, et al (2026)

Chac1 deficiency confers sepsis resistance by enriching gut microbiota-derived indole-3-carboxylic acid to drive macrophage metabolic shifts.

Journal of advanced research pii:S2090-1232(26)00368-1 [Epub ahead of print].

INTRODUCTION: Sepsis is a life-threatening dysregulated host response to infection, lacks effective therapies. ChaC glutathione-specific γ-glutamylcyclotransferase 1 (CHAC1) is elevated in sepsis and correlates with severity, but its functional role in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced organ damage is unclear.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to define the contribution of CHAC1 to sepsis-induced organ injury and elucidate the underlying mechanisms involving gut microbiota-derived metabolites and host immunity.

METHODS: Chac1[-/-] mice were subjected to LPS-induced endotoxemia to evaluate organ injury. The gut microbiota's role was defined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, microbiota depletion and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). The effect of microbiota-derived metabolite indole-3-carboxylic acid (ICA) was assessed in vivo. Underlying mechanisms were investigated via macrophage depletion, AHR pharmacological/genetic inhibition, and in vitro studies with RAW264.7 cells and bone marrow-derived macrophages.

RESULTS: Serum CHAC1 was elevated in septic patients and mice, correlating with disease severity. Chac1 deficiency protected against sepsis-induced multi-organ injury, an effect that was gut microbiota-dependent. Chac1[-]/[-] mice exhibited a remodeled gut microbiota, with enrichment of Akkermansia muciniphila and increased levels of the tryptophan metabolite ICA. Exogenous ICA or A. muciniphila supplementation recapitulated the protective phenotype. ICA treatment improved survival, attenuated inflammation, and reduced organ injury by activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in macrophages. This was evidenced by AHR nuclear translocation, and siRNA-mediated AHR knockdown abolished ICA's effects. ICA reprogrammed macrophage metabolism, inhibiting glycolysis (reduced lactate) and enhancing oxidative phosphorylation (increased ATP, oxygen consumption rate), leading to suppressed pro-inflammatory responses.

CONCLUSION: Chac1 deficiency confers sepsis resistance by enriching protective gut microbiota and elevating ICA, which acts as a major downstream effector. ICA activates the AHR in macrophages, driving a metabolic shift from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation that dampens inflammation and organ injury. This CHAC1-microbiota-ICA-AHR-macrophage axis identifies ICA as a promising therapeutic candidate and CHAC1 as a potential prognostic biomarker for sepsis.

RevDate: 2026-04-29
CmpDate: 2026-04-29

Li B, Ren Z, Li H, et al (2026)

Microbiota-metabolites interaction associated with glycemic improvement following a dietary herbal intervention in type 2 diabetes.

Frontiers in nutrition, 13:1793130.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a global metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and disruption of the gut microbiome. Nutritional and microbiota-targeted interventions have emerged as promising strategies for glycemic management, yet longitudinal clinical evidence integrating microbial and metabolic mechanisms remains limited. This study investigated microbiota-metabolites alterations during a standardized dietary herbal intervention (QingYun7, QY7) and explored their relationship with glycemic regulation across both animal study and clinical settings.

METHODS: The metabolic and microbial effects of QY7 were first evaluated in diabetic rats through measurements of blood glucose, and gut microbiota composition. Subsequently, a prospective cohort of 385 patients with T2D received QY7, with longitudinal monitoring of fasting, random, and 2-h postprandial glucose, gut microbiota, and serum metabolites across multiple time points. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from patients before and after intervention into antibiotic-treated mice was performed to evaluate the causal contribution of the gut microbiome to glycemic improvement. Mediation analyses were conducted to delineate potential pathways linking gut microbes, serum metabolites, and glucose outcomes.

RESULTS: In diabetic rats, QY7 administration significantly reduced blood glucose, and restored gut microbial composition. In the clinical cohort, the intervention was associated with rapid and sustained reductions in fasting, random, and postprandial glucose levels, accompanied by consistent remodeling of the gut microbiome and serum metabolite profile. FMT experiments demonstrated that microbiota derived from post-intervention patients conferred improved glycemic responses in recipient mice, supporting a causal role of gut microbiota in metabolic regulation. Serum metabolomic profiling revealed significant alterations, including enrichment of branched-chain amino acid related pathways. Mediation analyses identified key metabolites, phenyllactic acid, 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoic acid, and anandamide, as mediators linking specific bacterial taxa (Alistipes shahii and Limosilactobacillus mucosae) to fasting and postprandial glucose levels.

CONCLUSION: This study provides translational evidence that a dietary herbal intervention associated with glycemic improvement in T2D through microbiota-mediated metabolic reprogramming. Gut microbiome alterations induced by the intervention exerted causal effects on blood glucose regulation, with serum metabolites acting as potential key intermediaries. These findings highlight the mechanistic insight in nutrition-based microbiome modulation strategy in T2D.

RevDate: 2026-04-29
CmpDate: 2026-04-29

Du X, Su H, Huang Y, et al (2026)

Gut microbiome dysbiosis in PCOS: from pathogenesis to microbiome-targeted therapies.

Frontiers in endocrinology, 17:1747766.

(PCOS), one of the most common endocrine and metabolic disorders in women of reproductive age, has a complex pathogenesis that continues to be unraveled by ongoing research. The condition is defined by three key features: hyperandrogenemia, ovulatory dysfunction, and insulin resistance. Recent studies have highlighted the gut microbiome and its metabolites as crucial regulators in PCOS development. Evidence suggests that gut dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction play a pivotal role in the onset and progression of PCOS. This review comprehensively examines the central role of gut microbiota in PCOS pathogenesis, including shifts in microbial communities such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and their impact on critical metabolites like short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, and tryptophan metabolites, which modulate host metabolism and reproductive function. Furthermore, based on mechanistic insights, the review explores targeted gut microbiota interventions, systematically evaluating clinical evidence for dietary modifications, probiotic/prebiotic supplementation and fecal microbiota transplantation. These approaches provide novel perspectives for precision medicine in PCOS treatment. The findings not only deepen our understanding of PCOS pathogenesis but also establish a strong theoretical foundation for innovative microbiome-based therapeutics.

RevDate: 2026-04-29
CmpDate: 2026-04-29

Wang LM, Chen C, Danzheng JC, et al (2026)

Gut microbiome in sepsis: from dysbiotic biomarker to precision and palliative decision-making.

Frontiers in medicine, 13:1811304.

Sepsis is a major cause of mortality in critically ill patients, necessitating improved early detection, risk stratification, and individualized clinical decision-making. The gut microbiome actively regulates host immunity, metabolism, and barrier function, engaging in bidirectional interactions with sepsis progression. Evidence suggests that gut dysbiosis not only accompanies sepsis but may also accelerate it. Characteristic shifts, including reduced microbial diversity, expansion of opportunistic pathogens, and decreased short-chain fatty acid production, could offer early prognostic signals prior to clinical decline. Advances in multi-omics and computational analytics are enabling the translation of microbial signatures into actionable clinical insights, supporting phenotype-specific stratification in sepsis. Emerging microbiome-targeted interventions such as next-generation probiotics, synbiotics, metabolite supplementation, and fecal microbiota transplantation show potential for modulating host responses in a stage-specific manner. Within a precision medicine framework, microbiome-derived biomarkers may refine both critical care management and palliative decision-making. In advanced or refractory sepsis, these insights could help tailor treatment intensity, prioritize symptom control, and avoid non-beneficial therapeutic escalation. Realizing this potential will require prospective validation and standardized approaches to integrate microbiome data into personalized, goal-concordant sepsis care.

RevDate: 2026-04-29

Saad M, Redman A, Ata NA, et al (2026)

Predictive Power of Imaging: Assessing Parenchymal Fibrosis in Pediatric Chronic Pancreatitis.

Pancreas pii:00006676-990000000-00444 [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim is to identify pancreatic parenchymal imaging markers of fibrosis in children with chronic pancreatitis (CP). Secondary aims include describing the pattern of histopathologic fibrosis in different pancreatic regions and examining the impact of fibrosis on exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and baseline glycemic status.

METHODS: Single center cross-sectional study that included children aged 0-21 years who underwent total pancreatectomy islet auto-transplantation (TPIAT) prior to December 2022. Those with prior pancreatic surgeries, missing imaging, or missing histology were excluded.

RESULTS: Ninety-five patients (56% female, median age 13.3 y) were included. Multiple parenchymal imaging variables were significantly associated with histologic pancreatic fibrosis. A 5 mL decrease in segmented pancreas volume (odds ratio (OR)=1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-1.4, P<0.05) and 0.1 unit decrease in T1 signal intensity ratio (SIR) pancreas/spleen (P/s) (OR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.2, P<0.05) had increased fibrosis odds. A multivariable model with pancreas volume and T1 SIRp/s predicted severe fibrosis with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.8 (95% CI:0.7-0.9). Histologic fibrosis scores showed substantial agreement between pancreatic sampling locations (kappa=0.7, 95% CI: 0.6-0.9). EPI by fecal elastase (FE-1) was associated with increased odds of severe fibrosis (OR=11.7, 95% CI: 2.5-54.1, P<0.05) and higher Ammann scores were seen in participants with prediabetes and diabetes (9.0, interquartile range (IQR): 8.0-12.0, P=0.08).

CONCLUSIONS: The pancreatic parenchyma provides insights into pediatric CP through fibrosis assessment, which correlates with pancreatic function. A predictive model using pancreas volume and T1 SIR shows promise for forecasting pancreatic parenchymal fibrosis in children with CP.

RevDate: 2026-04-27
CmpDate: 2026-04-27

Granata G, N Petrosillo (2026)

Newer Therapeutics to Selectively Kill Clostridioides difficile and Restore the Microbiome.

Infectious disease reports, 18(2):.

BACKGROUND: The antibiotic ibezapolstat and the live biotherapeutic product live-JSLM are promising future approaches for treating Clostridioides difficile infection. Ibezapostat is a highly specific antibiotic for Clostridioides difficile, with minimal impact on the intestinal flora. Live-JSLM is designed to restore healthy intestinal microbiota, thus preventing recurrence of Clostridioides difficile infection. In this narrative review, we reviewed available data on ibezapostat and live-JSLM, considering that they are prototypes of two distinct, unique mechanisms of action against Clostridioides difficile.

METHODS: Data sources: PubMed and SCOPUS databases were searched from 1 January 2012 to 15 November 2025. Original articles reporting data on ibezapolstat and live-JSLM were included.

RESULTS: 31 studies were included. When compared to conventional anti-Clostridioides difficile antibiotics, ibezapolstat had a similar level of effectiveness and minimal impact on the gut microbiota. The available data confirm live-JSLM safety and efficacy in restoring the gut microbiota following the conclusion of the standard anti-Clostridioides difficile antibiotic regimen.

CONCLUSIONS: The results on ibezapolstat efficacy are promising, but require confirmation in larger patient populations through double-blind, randomised phase III trials. In the near future, an integrated approach may enhance the management of Clostridioides difficile infection: starting with highly specific antibiotics, i.e., ibezapolstat, followed by microbiome-based therapies such as live-JSLM.

RevDate: 2026-04-27
CmpDate: 2026-04-27

Lauriola M, Valkenburg S, Dejongh S, et al (2026)

Kidney Function Modulates Gut Microbial Metabolism.

Toxins, 18(4):.

Growing evidence suggests that chronic kidney disease (CKD) profoundly disrupts gut microbiome and its activity. This study explores how CKD affects colon microbial metabolism, focusing on (1) the representativeness of fecal metabolomics, (2) saccharolytic and proteolytic fermentation metabolites, and (3) the gut microbiome's role in the partitioning of tryptophan in its metabolic pathways. Tryptophan's main metabolic pathways include the indolic and the kynurenine pathways, which lead, respectively, to the formation of indoxyl sulfate and kynurenine, both contributing to uremic toxicity. Using a rat model of CKD, we evaluated whether fecal concentrations of microbial compounds, on which most studies are based, reflect the colonic concentrations in contact with the gut mucosa. Thus, we quantified the concentration and content of amino acids, indole, p-cresol, and also short-chain fatty acids, in different colon sections. We demonstrated that CKD promotes increased proteolytic fermentation and an augmented tryptophan partitioning into both the indolic and kynurenine pathways. Depletion of the indolic pathway obtained upon antibiotic treatment leads to a further enhancement of the kynurenine pathway.

RevDate: 2026-04-28

Huang J, Chen Z, Wang M, et al (2026)

Efficacy and safety of fecal microbiota transplantation in reducing recurrence of colorectal adenomas after endoscopic resection: study protocol for a multicenter, open-label, randomized, no-treatment-controlled trial.

Trials pii:10.1186/s13063-026-09740-1 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic resection is the standard treatment for colorectal adenoma (CRA), a key precursor to colorectal cancer (CRC). However, a high rate of recurrence post-procedure poses a significant challenge for long-term CRC prevention. Growing evidence suggests gut microbial dysbiosis contributes to adenoma development and recurrence. This trial will test the hypothesis that restoring a healthy gut microbiome with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can reduce the recurrence of CRA after endoscopic resection.

METHODS: This protocol describes a multicenter, open-label, randomized, no-treatment-controlled trial that will enroll 466 participants with CRA following endoscopic resection. Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either FMT or no treatment (control). The FMT intervention consists of an initial colonoscopic infusion and oral capsules, followed by oral maintenance capsules at months 3, 6, and 9. The primary outcome is the rate of CRA recurrence at the 12-month follow-up colonoscopy. Key secondary outcomes include the incidence of all polypoid lesions, changes in the gut and mucosal microbiota composition, the incidence of CRC, and a comprehensive assessment of adverse events to evaluate safety.

DISCUSSION: This trial is designed to provide high-quality evidence on the efficacy and safety of FMT for preventing CRA recurrence. The findings may support a novel, microbiome-based strategy for the secondary prevention of CRC and provide mechanistic insights into the role of the gut microbiota in colorectal carcinogenesis.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06205862. Registered on 16 January, 2024. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06205862.

RevDate: 2026-04-28
CmpDate: 2026-04-28

Yang Y, Tan X, Zhang Z, et al (2026)

Metagenomic sequencing reveals high reproducibility of human donor microbiota transplanted into germ-free mice via lower gut route.

Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B, 27(4):375-389 pii:1673-1581(2026)04-0375-15.

Human flora-associated (HFA) mice are often used to simulate the structure of human intestinal microbiota and to study the causal relationships between diseases and gut microbiota. However, several factors affect the colonization efficiency of human microbiota in germ-free (GF) mice, and the differential effects of gavage and lower gut transplantation on colonization are still unclear. In this study, we explored the reproducibility of the recipient-to-donor gut microbiota community structure and function under different transplantation routes and the differences in microbial colonization between recipients via gavage transplantation (GT_mice group) and lower gut transplantation (LGT_mice group). High-throughput sequencing of the metagenome was performed on the feces of each subject, and the composition of microbiome of each group was analyzed. As expected, the introduction of human fecal microbiota into GF mice via lower gut transplantation had a high transfer efficiency, which was evident from the similar species community structure to that of the donor (Adonis R[2]=0.713 960 for LGT_mice group‒donor group; Adonis R[2]=0.774 095 for GT_mice group‒donor group) and a higher bacterial colonization rate. The findings provide unique insights into improving the accuracy of constructing humanized microbiota transplantation models, aiding our understanding of the relationships between the human gut microbiota and disease.

RevDate: 2026-04-28

Li M, Yue A, Gu L, et al (2026)

Microbiota-metabolite axis in endometriosis: Pathogenic mechanisms and clinical implications.

Journal of biomedical research [Epub ahead of print].

Growing evidence highlights the role of microbiota, including those of the gut, reproductive tract, and endometrial tissue, as critical functional drivers in the pathogenesis of endometriosis (EM). Studies have revealed a characteristic microbial imbalance in patients with EM, marked by a reduced abundance of beneficial bacteria and enrichment of opportunistic pathogens. These microbial communities exert their influence primarily through metabolic activity, as demonstrated by metabolomic studies showing their capacity to modulate host immune and endocrine responses. This imbalance leads to multiple key metabolic disturbances, including decreased levels of short-chain fatty acids, particularly butyrate; a shift in tryptophan metabolism toward the kynurenine pathway; elevated β-glucuronidase activity; increased lipopolysaccharide production; and altered secondary bile acid profiles. Functionally, these metabolic alterations converge to promote EM by disrupting immune homeostasis, enhancing estrogen signaling, and driving systemic inflammation, collectively creating a permissive microenvironment for ectopic lesion growth and invasion. Targeted interventions, such as probiotics, high-fiber dietary strategies, fecal microbiota transplantation, and selective modulation of microbial or host metabolic enzymes, are emerging as promising non-hormonal therapeutic approaches. Nonetheless, further studies incorporating longitudinal cohort designs and integrative multi-omics approaches are essential to establish causality and facilitate the development of precise diagnostic and personalized treatment strategies.

RevDate: 2026-04-27
CmpDate: 2026-04-27

van der Sligte NE, Biedermann L, Rogler G, et al (2026)

Outcomes of Fecal Microbiota Transfer in Patients with Recurrent Clostridioides Difficile Infection: Real-World Data from a Single Center in Switzerland.

Digestive diseases (Basel, Switzerland), 44(2):225-234.

UNLABELLED:

Introduction: Clostridioides difficile is the most frequently reported healthcare-associated infection with around 125'000 occurrences and 3'700 deaths annually in Europe. Recurrence rates are about 20% and risk factors include age >65 years and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) has emerged as a highly effective treatment for recurrent C. difficile infection (rCDI), being successful in more than 90% of patients. This retrospective single-center study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of FMT in patients with rCDI at the University Hospital Zurich.

METHODS: Between 2012 and 2022, 84 patients underwent FMT for rCDI at our center, of which 83 were included in the final analysis. The median patient age was 71 years (22-97 years), and the majority of patients were female (67.5%). All patients had received multiple prior courses of antibiotic treatment for C. difficile infection.

RESULTS: The success rate following a single FMT was 92.8%, increasing to 97.6% with repeated procedures. Those rates were comparable in the IBD subgroup. FMT was well tolerated. Mild adverse events were reported in 14.5% of patients, most commonly reported adverse event being ongoing IBD activity (33.3%), and diarrhea (33.3%) followed by abdominal pain (25%). Serious adverse events occurred in 3.6% of patients mainly related to underlying conditions.

CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that FMT is a highly effective and well-tolerated treatment for rCDI, even in older patients with comorbidities. Importantly, FMT was successfully implemented without the use of a national stool bank, instead relying on locally processed related donor stool, highlighting its feasibility in resource-limited settings.

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RevDate: 2026-04-25

Yao Y, Liu Y, Li Y, et al (2026)

Re: Fecal Microbiota Transplantation plus Pembrolizumab and Axitinib in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: The Randomized Phase 2 TACITO Trial.

European urology pii:S0302-2838(26)02097-X [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-04-26

Li C, Wan W, Li C, et al (2026)

The microbiota-gut-brain axis as a driver of secondary brain injury after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: from bidirectional vicious cycle to therapeutic opportunities.

Reviews in the neurosciences [Epub ahead of print].

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a devastating stroke subtype with high morbidity and mortality, significantly contributed to by secondary brain injuries such as early brain injury and delayed cerebral ischemia. Despite advances in acute management, effective neuroprotective strategies remain an unmet need. The microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA), a pivotal bidirectional communication network, has recently emerged as a critical modulator of pathophysiology in acute brain injuries. However, its precise role and therapeutic potential in aSAH are not systematically defined. This review synthesizes clinical and preclinical evidence to move beyond correlation and delineate the spatiotemporal dynamics and the mechanisms that may underlie of MGBA dysregulation post-aSAH. We conceptualize a self-amplifying "brain-gut-brain" vicious cycle: the initial brain injury may disrupt intestinal barrier integrity and microbiota ecology via neuroendocrine and inflammatory pathways; in turn, gut-derived signals (e.g., altered microbial metabolites, endotoxin translocation) may propagate systemic inflammation and exacerbate neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier disruption, and cerebral ischemia. We dissect this cycle by detailing the key molecular bridges (tryptophan metabolites, short-chain fatty acids, bile acids), signaling pathways (e.g., TLR4/NF-κB, NLRP3 inflammasome), and central effectors involved. Furthermore, we provide a critical, stratified evaluation of MGBA-targeting therapeutic strategies - including probiotics, prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and metabolite supplementation - assessing their mechanistic rationale, level of evidence, and translational challenges. Finally, we outline future directions emphasizing the need for defining therapeutic windows, establishing causal proof, and integrating MGBA modulation into multimodal neurocritical care. Harnessing the MGBA presents a novel and promising paradigm for developing adjunctive neuroprotective therapies to improve outcomes after aSAH.

RevDate: 2026-04-26
CmpDate: 2026-04-26

Chen D, Zhang B, Wang O, et al (2026)

[Effects of high-fat diet on gut microbiota in rats transplanted with gut microbiota from normal/high triglyceridemic individuals].

Wei sheng yan jiu = Journal of hygiene research, 55(2):261-268.

OBJECTIVE: Using sterile SD rats as a model, the fat accumulation and changes in the intestinal flora of rats transplanted with normal/high triglyceride(TG) population under high-fat diet were studied.

METHODS: 10-week-old male sterile rats were randomly divided into 3 groups according to body weight, with 6 rats in each group. The non-colonizing group was gavaged with normal saline, the normal lipid group was gavaged with normal TG(<1.7 mmol/L) human intestinal flora, and the high TG group was gavaged with high TG(≥1.7 mmol/L) human intestinal flora. Rats were given fecal bacterial solution by gavage at a dose of 1 mL per 100 g of body weight, every other day, for a total of 3 times, followed by 2 weeks of adaptive growth of the microbiota. After the transplanting was completed, a 9-week feeding experiment with high-fat diet(fat energy supply ratio 40.5%) was conducted. The body weight of the rats was measured weekly, and feces were collected every three weeks. After the experiment, liver, perirenal, subcutaneous and brown fat were weighed. The fat weight was used to represent the fat accumulation of the rats, and lipid indicators were determined. Liver HE staining was used to observe steatosis, and high-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the intestinal flora of the rats.

RESULTS: After the experiment, compared with the colonized normal TG population microbiota group, there were no significant differences in body weight, perirenal, subcutaneous and brown fat mass, and blood lipid levels in the colonized high TG microbiota group. Liver HE staining sections showed that both the colonized high TG and non-colonized dyslipidemia microbiota groups could observe more severe steatosis and obvious fat vacuums. The intestinal microbiota profiles of the two groups of rats colonized with different population microbiota showed different variation patterns at the phylum and genus levels. At 0 weeks of high-fat diet, the F/B ratios of the microbiota phylum in rats colonized with the feces of the high-TG population and those colonized with the feces of the normal TG population were 1.24 and 0.48, respectively. After 9 weeks of high-fat diet, The F/B ratios of the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla of the bacteria phyla in rats colonized with the feces of the high TG population and those colonized with the feces of the normal TG population were 3.37 and 0.81, respectively. In the fecal colonization group of rats in the high TG population under a high-fat diet, more obvious intestinal flora disorders occurred, the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria was inhibited, and the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria increased.

CONCLUSION: Under high-fat diet, the colonization of intestinal flora in volunteers with different blood lipid levels has a certain relationship with the weight changes and fat accumulation of rats. The species composition and abundance of flora in different populations have undergone significant changes.

RevDate: 2026-04-27
CmpDate: 2026-04-27

Tian W, Peng S, Xu F, et al (2026)

Disruption of intestinal barrier and immune homeostasis links gut microbiota dysbiosis to aggravated experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis.

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 16:1726788.

INTRODUCTION: Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is an acquired autoimmune disease. The imbalance between Th17 and Treg cells plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of MG. A stable intestinal microbiota is essential for maintaining immune balance, a function primarily mediated by the Th17/Treg axis. This study aims to explore the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) to identify potential new treatment strategies.

METHODS: An EAMG model was established in Lewis rats by immunization with the AChRα97-116 peptide segment. The composition and structure of the gut microbiota were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. The serum levels of inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-17, IL-10), AChR-Ab, and LPS were measured using the ELISA method. Colon tissues were subjected to Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, and Claudin-1 and Muc2 expression was analyzed via immunofluorescence. A microbiota disorder animal model was established by administering an antibiotic mixture via gavage, followed by fecal microbiota transplantation. Splenic CD3+CD4+IL-17A+ Th17 cells and CD3+CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells were quantified by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: 1. Compositional and structural changes of the gut microbiota in EAMG. Compared with HC, the serum levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-17, and AChR-Ab in EAMG were significantly increased (P < 0.0001), while the serum level of IL-10 was significantly decreased (P < 0.0001), and the serum level of LPS was increased (P < 0.01). The protein levels of Claudin-1 (P < 0.001) and Muc2 (P < 0.05) in the colon were significantly reduced in EAMG. 2. Relative to rats receiving HC microbiota transplantation (HMb), those receiving EAMG microbiota transplantation (MMb) exhibited significantly elevated serum levels of AChR-Ab (P < 0.01), TNF-α (P < 0.05), IL-17 (P < 0.05), and LPS (P < 0.01), alongside significantly reduced colonic levels of Claudin-1 (P < 0.05) and Muc2 (P < 0.0001). 3. Compared with the EAMG group, the ABX + EAMG group (EAMG with microbiota dysbiosis) exhibited significantly lower colonic levels of Claudin-1 and Muc2 (P < 0.05), a significantly greater splenic Th17/Treg cell imbalance (P < 0.01), and significantly higher serum AChR-Ab levels (P < 0.01).

DISCUSSION: The gut microbiota is intricately linked to the progression of EAMG. Microbiota dysbiosis can exacerbate intestinal barrier damage in EAMG and may further influence the pathological changes of myasthenia by disrupting the Th17/Treg immune balance. These findings suggest a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of myasthenia gravis by re-establishing microbial homeostasis.

RevDate: 2026-04-27
CmpDate: 2026-04-27

Li Z, Xie C, C Pan (2026)

The oral-gut-brain axis: how periodontitis influence depression.

Frontiers in microbiology, 17:1778744.

Depression has a high global prevalence and is a common mental-emotional disorder that severely jeopardizes human health. However, current treatment options remain limited, necessitating the exploration of novel pathological mechanisms and intervention targets. Recent studies indicate that periodontitis, as a prevalent chronic oral infectious disease, not only causes local microbial dysbiosis and inflammatory responses but may also influence central nervous system function through the "oral-gut-brain axis," thereby contributing to the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis, as well as neuropsychiatric disorders like depression. This review systematically examines the impact of periodontitis on oral microbiota and its subsequent translocation and colonization in the gut microbiota through pathways including swallowing and bloodstream circulation, ultimately leading to structural and functional dysregulation of the gut microbiota. The interaction between oral and gut microbiota can influence the brain through the "gut-brain axis," including disturbances in neurotransmitter metabolism, activation of systemic immune responses, and direct or indirect effects of bacterial metabolites (such as short-chain fatty acids, lipopolysaccharides, etc.) on the blood-brain barrier and neural function. This suggests that periodontal health management may serve as a novel strategy for the prevention and treatment of depression. This article further summarizes the potential of oral interventions for periodontitis (such as mechanical debridement and local/systemic antimicrobial therapy), microbiota modulation methods (such as probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation), and multidisciplinary collaborative comprehensive treatment strategies in improving microbial homeostasis and alleviating depressive symptoms. Finally, this paper points out the current research limitations in mechanistic details, causal relationships, and clinical translation, while envisioning the feasibility and prospects of developing personalized treatment strategies by targeting the "oral-gut-brain axis" in the future.

RevDate: 2026-04-27
CmpDate: 2026-04-27

Dong B, Zhong B, Zuo J, et al (2026)

Identification and Validation of Ferroptosis-Related Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in ARDS: A Bioinformatics and Experimental Study.

Journal of inflammation research, 19:566825.

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe inflammatory lung disease with high mortality and limited effective therapies. Recent studies link ferroptosis-an iron-dependent regulated cell death-to ARDS pathogenesis. This study aimed to identify/validate ferroptosis-related diagnostic biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)'s protective role in ARDS.

METHODS: Bioinformatic analyses of GEO datasets (GSE76293/GSE151263) included differential expression profiling, WGCNA, PPI network, and machine learning (LASSO/RF) to screen hub genes, with ROC analysis for diagnostic efficacy. An LPS-induced ARDS rat model with FMT intervention was validated via qRT-PCR, IHC, Western blot, and histological staining.

RESULTS: Thirty-seven ferroptosis-linked differentially expressed genes (FDEGs) were identified, enriched in ferroptosis, mitophagy, and immune pathways. Three hub genes (MAPK8, CREB1, GPX4) showed robust diagnostic utility (LASSO AUC=0.931; RF AUC=0.993 in GSE76293) and correlated with monocytes/neutrophils/activated NK cells. LPS suppressed their mRNA/protein levels in rats, reversed by FMT.

CONCLUSION: MAPK8, CREB1, and GPX4 are potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ARDS. FMT protects against ARDS by reversing these genes' downregulation and suppressing ferroptosis, providing new insights into ARDS pathogenesis and ferroptosis-targeted interventions.

RevDate: 2026-04-27
CmpDate: 2026-04-27

Alvaro ME, Caserta S, Martino EA, et al (2026)

Gut Microbiota and Acute Myeloid Leukemia: State of the Art, Clinical Signals, and Translational Opportunities.

Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 15(4): pii:antibiotics15040417.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains a highly morbid malignancy in which outcomes are constrained not only by disease refractoriness and relapse, but also by therapy-related toxicity-particularly infections, mucosal injury, and delayed hematopoietic reconstitution. The gut microbiota has emerged as a potentially modifiable layer of host vulnerability and resilience during AML treatment. Microbiome disruption is detectable already at diagnosis, even in antibiotic-naïve patients, and is often characterized by reduced community diversity, depletion of anaerobic taxa linked to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production, and enrichment of pathobiont-associated profiles. During induction, cytotoxic therapy and antimicrobials precipitates diversity loss, domination events, and persistent shifts beyond discharge. Clinically, the most consistent translational signal is the association between baseline or early-treatment microbiome features and infectious outcomes, while emerging data suggest that diagnosis-time microbiome structure may also relate to hematologic recovery kinetics. Mechanistic models converge on pathways linking barrier integrity, microbial metabolites (notably butyrate and other SCFAs), immune calibration, and inflammatory translocation of microbial products. These insights support hypotheses: antimicrobial stewardship may preserve microbiome function; ecosystem repair strategies such as autologous fecal microbiota transfer (A-FMT) are feasible and can restore community structure; and metabolite or nutritional interventions merit evaluation in immunocompromised hosts. Regimen-specific microbiome effects and microbiome-drug interactions suggest that treatment choice could have downstream microbiome-mediated consequences. We synthesize evidence, outline interventional concepts, and define methodological priorities for next-generation trials assessing causality and clinical benefit. Progress will require longitudinal sampling, multi-omic integration (metabolomics, resistomics, and barrier/inflammatory biomarkers), and interventional designs linking microbiome dynamics to clinically meaningful outcomes.

RevDate: 2026-04-24

Choi Y, Ryu S, Kang A, et al (2026)

Fecal virome transplantation alleviates weaning stress-induced behavioral alterations and intestinal health by reshaping the gut microbiome.

Scientific reports pii:10.1038/s41598-026-49647-0 [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-04-24

Tonkin-Hill G, Shao Y, Zarebski AE, et al (2026)

Strain-level transmission inference across multi-kingdom metagenomic data using TRACS.

Nature microbiology [Epub ahead of print].

Coexisting strains of the same species within metagenomic data pose a substantial challenge to inferring transmission of pathogenic and commensal microbes. Here we present TRAnsmision Clustering of Strains (TRACS), a highly accurate algorithm for estimating genetic distances between strains at the level of individual single nucleotide polymorphisms, which is robust to intra-species diversity within the host. Analysis of faecal microbiota transplantation datasets and extensive simulations demonstrates that TRACS outperforms existing methods. We use TRACS to infer transmission networks in patients colonized with multiple strains, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 amplicon sequencing data, deep population sequencing data of Streptococcus pneumoniae and single-cell genome sequencing data from patients infected with Plasmodium falciparum. Applying TRACS to gut metagenomic samples from a mother-infant cohort revealed species-specific transmission rates and identified increased the persistence of Bifidobacterium breve in infants, a finding previously missed owing to the presence of multiple strains. Our study shows that TRACS can be used across microbial kingdoms to uncover strain dynamics.

RevDate: 2026-04-25
CmpDate: 2026-04-25

Huang S, Yang Q, W Zhou (2025)

[Gut microbiota involved in cancer invasion and metastasis].

Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences, 50(12):2186-2200.

The gut microbiota, as the "second genome" of the human body, plays a crucial role in maintaining the host's homeostasis and regulating the disease process. The latest research indicates that intestinal microecological imbalance is an important cause that triggers and accelerates tumor metastasis. The gut microbiota mainly promotes tumor invasion and metastasis through the following 2 mechanisms: 1) Contact-dependent mechanism, specific pathogenic bacteria directly adhere and invade tumor cells through surface proteins, inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cytoskeleton remodeling; 2) non-contact-dependent mechanism, metabolites derived from the microbiota act on distant organs through the bloodstream, activating signaling pathways to construct pre-metastatic ecological niches and inducing systemic immunosuppression. Precise intervention strategies for the gut microbiota include supplementing specific probiotics with anti-cancer potential, selective antibiotics or phage therapy against specific pathogenic bacteria, fecal microbiota transplantation and microbial vaccines. Although preliminary studies have shown promising results, the high heterogeneity of the microbiota, the bidirectional action of metabolites, and the safety of long-term colonization remain bottlenecks for clinical translation. In the future, it is necessary to further clarify the key transfer-promoting microbiota and their characteristic metabolic and signaling mechanisms, promote the development of individualized and precise microbiota intervention strategies, and strengthen clinical translation research, in order to ultimately achieve the goal of effectively preventing and treating tumor metastasis by regulating the gut microbiota.

RevDate: 2026-04-24
CmpDate: 2026-04-24

Prince AM, Zeltiņa I, Reinis A, et al (2026)

HBV and the Microbiome-PubMed Database Literature Review.

Infectious disease reports, 18(3): pii:idr18030038.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a globally distributed infectious disease affecting the liver. This literature review aims to summarize all available relevant information on the PubMed database about HBV's connection to the microbiome and to consider possible treatment adjuncts.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Database used: PubMed. Keywords used: "HBV", "Hepatitis B", "microbiome". In the PubMed database, 179 research publications were identified using these keywords; 69 studies were excluded as they were irrelevant or retracted. Of the remaining, 110 were analyzed in this literature review, and four additional literature sources were used to supply background information and context. Information was summarized. The analysed studies in total included 14,814 participants (excluding animal studies), of whom 8564 were HBV-infected individuals.

RESULTS: Results characterizing abundance or decrease in specific bacterial, viral, and fungal species are heterogeneous; multiple studies support that the HBV patient oral and fecal microbiome is different from that in healthy controls (HCs) and varies throughout disease progression. The HBV seems to transform the microbiome negatively, leading to dysbiosis and decreased microbial diversity in most studies. Evidence links HBV microbiome changes with influence on HbeAg seroconversion, HBV-DNA load, metabolic pathways, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The research proposes that members of microbiota could potentially promote or protect against liver injury in HBV. Four studies proposed that the plasma virome in HBV patients was primarily composed of members of the Anelloviridae. One study researched a parasite (Entamoeba gingivalis) in HBV patients. Two studies analyzed HBV patients' fungal profiles.

CONCLUSIONS: Microbiota research, although promising, at the present moment is heterogeneous. HBV patients' microbiota is distinguishable from HCs, and multiple studies have tried to identify the HBV characteristic microbiome; however, more precise information is needed to draw conclusions. Fecal microbiota transplantation and probiotics have the potential to be therapy adjuncts for HBV patients, but more research is needed.

RevDate: 2026-04-23

Liem J, Chen X, Lim JJ, et al (2026)

Impact of the gut microbiome on hepatic cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) in humanized pregnane X receptor-constitutive androstane receptor-CYP3A4/3A7 mice.

Drug metabolism and disposition: the biological fate of chemicals, 54(5):100284 pii:S0090-9556(26)00053-X [Epub ahead of print].

The interaction between the gut microbiome and drug metabolism is bidirectional and can influence the pharmacokinetics of certain drugs. In mice, the gut microbiome has been shown to influence Cyp3a11. However, evidence for microbial regulation of human cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is lacking. We aimed to bridge this gap by manipulating the microbiome of a humanized mouse model expressing CYP3A4, CYP3A7, pregnane X receptor and constitutive androstane receptor. Three groups of male and female humanized mice were studied: conventional (CV), germ-free (GF), and germ-free mice conventionalized (GFCV) using sex-matched pooled human fecal samples. The presence of microbiome upregulated CYP3A4 expression by 7.6-fold in male CV mice (P < .001) but downregulated CYP3A4 expression by 1.69-fold in female CV mice (P = .012) compared with GF mice. The human fecal microbiome transplant to sex-matched GF mice resulted in decreased microbial diversity (P < .05 in males and P < .01 in females) and was not effective in restoring CYP3A4 expression, suggesting complex underlying microbe-CYP3A4 interactions. We show that the hepatic CYP3A4 mRNA and protein expression were strongly correlated (R = 0.91; P = 2.6 × 10[-6]). A total of 57 bacterial species from the mouse gut microbiome were identified to be significantly correlated with CYP3A4 protein expression (P < .05). Five bile acids and no short-chain fatty acids were correlated with CYP3A4 protein expression. In summary, alterations in the gut microbiome influenced hepatic CYP3A4 in humanized mice in a sex-dependent manner, with distinct microbes strongly correlating with this regulatory pattern. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the expression of cytochrome P450 3A4 under different microbial conditions in a humanized mouse model, including conventionalization of germ-free mice using pooled sex-matched human feces. Alterations in the gut microbiome influenced hepatic cytochrome P450 3A4 in a sex-dependent manner and were strongly correlated with microbial species.

RevDate: 2026-04-24

Lin J, Zhu Q, Wang T, et al (2026)

Reconstitution of gut microbiota by medicinal plant isoflavones ameliorates heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Pharmacological research, 228:108199 pii:S1043-6618(26)00114-3 [Epub ahead of print].

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a heterogeneous syndrome with limited therapeutic options. Gut microbiota and microbiota-derived metabolites impact the progression and severity of HFpEF-related cardiometabolic dysfunctions. Here, we demonstrated that the isoflavone extract of Pueraria lobata (Iso-Pl), puerarin, or its microbial metabolite S-equol, improved left ventricular diastolic dysfunctions, reduced hypertension, and ameliorated metabolic disorders in an HFD and L-NAME-induced HFpEF mouse model. Antibiotic depletion and fecal microbiota transplantation experiments revealed an important contribution of gut microbiota to Iso-Pl efficacy. It reshaped gut microbiota composition and function, and reprogrammed microbial-mediated lysine and phenylalanine metabolism. Metabolomics analysis confirmed that Iso-Pl enhanced the production of beneficial metabolites, butyrate and S-equol, while reducing the lysine and phenylalanine-related trimethyllysine (TML) and phenylacetylglycine (PAGly) that have been reported to accumulate and aggravate HFpEF. Moreover, treatment with Iso-Pl, puerarin, and S-equol upregulated estrogen receptor β (ESR2) and activated the downstream eNOS-cGMP-PKG signaling axis in mice, while concurrently inhibiting the pro-inflammatory mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. These activities collectively contributed to the alleviation of HFpEF by Iso-Pl. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the cardioprotective effects of Iso-Pl are closely linked with the gut microbiota-dependent metabolic reprogramming and highlight P. lobata isoflavones as promising therapeutic agents for HFpEF.

RevDate: 2026-04-23

Liu Z, Zhang T, Wang S, et al (2026)

Gut Microbiota: A Critical Regulator of Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neurotoxicity Development.

Neurotoxicology pii:S0161-813X(26)00081-1 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN) is a common dose-limiting toxicity that significantly affects patients' quality of life. Although neuroinflammation has been implicated, the precise contribution of the gut-nerve axis remains incompletely understood. This study aimed to investigate the role of gut microbiota and associated inflammatory signaling in OIPN.

METHODS: An OIPN model was established in Sprague Dawley rats. Gut microbiota depletion was achieved via antibiotic (ABX) treatment, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from healthy donors was performed to restore microbial communities. Mechanical allodynia and cold hypersensitivity were assessed using the von Frey filament test and the acetone test, respectively. Systemic inflammation was evaluated by measuring serum cytokine levels via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The composition of the gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Intestinal barrier integrity and local inflammation were assessed through histopathology, immunofluorescence, and quantification of tight junction proteins (ZO-1, occludin) and inflammatory markers (NF-κB, TNF-α) via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blotting. Network pharmacology was employed to screen for potential common targets of oxaliplatin and neurotoxicity. Molecular alterations in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were examined using histology, qPCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence, with a focus on the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and pro-inflammatory cytokines.

RESULTS: Antibiotic-mediated depletion of gut microbiota significantly attenuated OXA-induced neuropathic pain and systemic inflammation, as evidenced by reduced levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), whereas FMT reversed these protective effects. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that OXA altered gut microbiota composition, including reduced alpha diversity, altered beta diversity, a decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and taxonomic changes. These alterations were partially restored following FMT under the present experimental conditions. Functional prediction analysis indicated enrichment of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis pathway. Consistently, OXA treatment was associated with elevated LPS levels in plasma and feces, which were reduced by ABX treatment and increased following FMT. OXA was also associated with impaired intestinal barrier integrity, as evidenced by decreased expression of ZO-1 and Occludin and increased inflammatory markers (NF-κB, TNF-α) in the colon, changes that were modulated by microbiota status. Network pharmacology analysis identified inflammation-related pathways and potential targets. In the DRG, OXA treatment was associated with neuronal injury, increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8), and activation of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway, which were attenuated by antibiotic treatment and reappeared following FMT.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings support a microbiota-associated contribution to OIPN and suggest that gut microbiota may influence intestinal and peripheral inflammatory responses. Increased endotoxin burden and activation of TLR4-related signaling pathways may represent potential mechanisms linking the gut and nervous system in OIPN. Targeting the gut-nerve axis may offer a promising direction for future therapeutic strategies, although further studies are required to establish causality and identify specific microbial mediators.

RevDate: 2026-04-24

Cao B, Zhou X, Cao X, et al (2026)

Application of Gut Microbiota in the Treatment and Efficacy Evaluation of Tic Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review existing evidence on the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of tic disorders (TD) and to assess the therapeutic potential of microbiome-targeted interventions such as probiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation in the management of TD.

METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Library (up to May 26, 2025). The review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251067880).

RESULTS: Eleven studies were included, with four focusing on gut microbiome-based therapies and seven studies with gut microbiota and its metabolites as outcome indicators. At the genus level, children with TD exhibited specific alterations in gut microbiota: increased abundance of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, and Ruminococcus, alongside decreased levels of Bifidobacterium and Prevotella. This functional dysbiosis may trigger neuroinflammation via disrupted short-chain fatty acid metabolism and impaired intestinal barrier function, ultimately disturbing the glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid neurotransmitter balance and leading to dysfunction in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit. Meanwhile, probiotics as an intervention have been consistently reported to alleviate tic symptoms, although clinical evidence remains limited.

CONCLUSION: Gut microbiota may contribute to TD pathogenesis via immune modulation and neurotransmitter metabolism. While microbiota-based strategies show promise, heterogeneity and methodological limitations in current studies necessitate further high-quality research to validate mechanisms and support clinical application.

RevDate: 2026-04-24

Gao T, Zheng M, Geng F, et al (2026)

Autonomic modulation following fecal microbiota transplantation in chronic insomnia.

Postgraduate medicine [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) modulates autonomic function in chronic insomnia disorder and whether autonomic rebalancing mediates sleep improvement.

METHODS: This prespecified exploratory analysis was embedded within a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of FMT for chronic insomnia. The original trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the FMT-based treatment protocol, with polysomnography-measured sleep efficiency at 1 month as the primary endpoint. Eighty adults were randomly assigned to receive either FMT (n = 40) or placebo capsules (n = 40). Overnight polysomnography was conducted at baseline and 1 month, and heart rate variability indices were derived to quantify autonomic regulation. Sleep outcomes included PSG-derived metrics and validated subjective questionnaires. Associations between changes in autonomic parameters and sleep outcomes were examined using correlation analyses. Mediation analysis was performed to evaluate whether autonomic changes statistically mediated FMT-associated improvements in sleep. Gut microbiota composition was profiled using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

RESULTS: In the original trial, the FMT-based treatment met its prespecified primary endpoint, with significantly improved polysomnography-measured sleep efficiency at 1 month. In this exploratory analysis, FMT significantly reduced the LF/HF ratio (-0.10; 95% CI, -0.18 to -0.02; p = 0.010). A reduction in LF/HF was associated with longer TST (β = -0.41; p = 0.004). Mediation analysis showed that LF/HF accounted for 49.7% of the FMT effect on TST (ACME = 19.44 min; p = 0.018). FMT induced microbial compositional remodeling associated with the nocturnal LF/HF ratio, including enrichment of Lachnospira eligens, Christensenellaceae R-7 group, Ruminococcaceae, and Coprococcus, and depletion of Prevotella copri, Streptococcus, and Faecalibacterium.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide clinical exploratory evidence for autonomic system as a potential pathway through which microbiota-targeted interventions may alleviate insomnia. Further studies are needed to determine the durability and clinical significance of these findings.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05917379 (June 23, 2023).

RevDate: 2026-04-24
CmpDate: 2026-04-24

Wu H, Yu M, Huang S, et al (2026)

The Gut-Brain Axis as a Mediator of Environmental Endocrine Disruptors in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Mechanistic Synthesis.

Biological psychiatry global open science, 6(3):100717.

The rising global prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) underscores the importance of environmental factors, particularly environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EEDs), whose mechanistic links to ADHD remain unclear. The gut-brain axis, a key modulator of neurodevelopment, is susceptible to EEDs and is altered in ADHD, suggesting a potential mediating pathway. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and PROSPERO registration (CRD420251152480), we systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase (January 2014-July 2025) for studies on EEDs, gut microbiota, and ADHD. Data from 127 included studies (observational, experimental, interventional) were narratively synthesized to evaluate the gut-brain axis as a mediator. We found 1) consistent epidemiological associations between prenatal/childhood EED exposure (e.g., phthalates, bisphenol A, pesticides) and increased ADHD risk; 2) a distinct gut microbial signature in ADHD featuring reduced alpha diversity, elevated Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, depletion of beneficial taxa (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium), and impaired short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production; 3) evidence that EED exposure induces convergent gut dysbiosis; and 4) interventional studies indicating that modulating the microbiota (via probiotics, synbiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation) can ameliorate ADHD-related behaviors. These findings support a novel mechanistic model wherein EEDs disrupt gut microbiota homeostasis, thereby contributing to ADHD pathogenesis via immune-inflammatory, microbial metabolite (e.g., SCFA), and neuroendocrine pathways along the gut-brain axis. This review synthesizes evidence positioning the gut-brain axis as a critical mediator linking EED exposure to ADHD. It proposes a unifying etiological framework and highlights the microbiome as a promising target for preventive and therapeutic strategies. Future longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to establish causality.

RevDate: 2026-04-24

Bornbusch SL, CR Muletz-Wolz (2026)

Applying microbial ecology frameworks to microbial therapies for wildlife.

mSystems [Epub ahead of print].

Microbial ecology is increasingly incorporated into human and animal medicine via the study and purposeful manipulation of host-associated microbiomes. Microbial therapies-treatments with the aim of beneficially modulating microbiomes-are a burgeoning area of research and industry. These microbial therapies include prebiotic dietary items, live probiotics, and whole microbiota transplants (e.g., fecal microbiota transplants). Although microbial therapies for humans and domestic animals are now widely produced for commercial use and application, evidence supporting the efficacy of commercial microbial therapies is mixed. We suggest that microbial therapies are most effective when paired with concepts from ecology and rigorous empirical research. This is particularly relevant for the development and use of microbial therapies in wildlife animal species, in which we see large-scale variation in microbial communities across hosts of varying ecologies. Identifying and developing microbial therapies that can simultaneously be accessible and effective in a variety of hosts poses a novel challenge for microbial ecologists, animal scientists, and human and animal medical professionals. In addition to pre- and probiotics, we suggest that whole microbiota transplants provide a method of microbial supplementation that may better align with species-specific microbial ecology. Moving forward, emerging methods used in human medicine such as machine learning, network analysis, and microbiome engineering using high-throughput culturomics will likely be key to identifying and applying functionally relevant (e.g., disease suppressive) microbial taxa for wildlife therapies.

RevDate: 2026-04-21

Kværner AS, Birkeland E, Avershina E, et al (2026)

Alcohol consumption and colorectal carcinogenesis: an exploration of the gut microbial pathway as a potential mediator.

European journal of nutrition, 65(4):.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is one of the major risk factors of colorectal cancer (CRC), yet the mechanisms underlying this relationship, particularly the role of gut microbes, are not fully understood.

OBJECTIVE: To study associations of alcohol intake with the gut microbiome and colorectal lesions among CRC screening participants. Of particular interest was the potential role of gut microbes in mediating the association between alcohol intake and colorectal lesions.

METHODS: Screening participants with a positive faecal immunochemical test at ages 55–77 were eligible for the CRCbiome study. Alcohol intake was assessed using a validated, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and linked with shotgun metagenome based gut microbial profiles to study associations with screen-detected colorectal lesions. The potential role of alcohol-associated gut microbes in mediating the association between alcohol intake and colorectal lesions was examined using causal mediation analysis.

RESULTS: Of 1468 participants with dietary data, 414 were diagnosed with advanced lesions. Alcohol intake was positively associated with advanced lesions in a dose-dependent manner (ptrend = 0.008), with odds ratio of 1.09 (95% confidence interval, 1.00, 1.19) per 10 g/day increase. Compared to non-consumers, those consuming alcohol were characterized by a distinct microbial profile, manifested as modest, but consistent, shifts in α- and β-diversity, and differentially abundant bacteria. A causal mediation analysis showed that 12% of the association between alcohol intake and advanced lesions was mediated by alcohol-associated gut bacteria.

CONCLUSION: Alcohol consumption was associated with a distinct microbial profile, which partly explained the association between alcohol intake and advanced colorectal lesions. Trial registration: The BCSN is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (National clinical trial (NCT) no. 01538550).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00394-026-03960-6.

RevDate: 2026-04-22
CmpDate: 2026-04-22

Hansen SH, Bhattacharjee N, Hu C, et al (2026)

Bacterial clusters are associated with the risk of severe disease progression in inflammatory bowel disease irrespective of conventional disease categories.

Microbiome research reports, 5(1):4.

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are complex conditions marked by chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Traditional classification separates IBD into Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, but this division may not fully capture disease heterogeneity. Here, we examine whether microbiome-driven subtyping can describe novel clinical IBD phenotypes. To achieve this, we applied unsupervised clustering to fecal microbiota profiles from the population-based Inflammatory Bowel Disease in South-Eastern Norway III (IBSEN III) cohort. Methods: A Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) was used to cluster participants with IBD based on microbiome composition and examine associations between clusters and clinical outcomes, including inflammatory markers and disease severity during the first year after inclusion. Results: Three microbiome-based clusters were identified: CLO (dominated by Clostridia UCG-014), ALF (Agathobacter, Lachnoclostridium, and Faecalibacterium), and RUM (Ruminococcus gnavus). Participants in the RUM cluster had a higher risk of future severe disease than those in the CLO cluster, even among participants with remission-to-mild disease at inclusion (21% vs. 6%, P < 0.00001). This association could not be explained by antibiotic use or baseline disease severity. Cluster membership alone performed comparably to fecal calprotectin in distinguishing severe disease, and a combined model significantly improved accuracy (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate a connection between microbiome composition and the risk of severe disease development, which is partly independent of inflammation levels at the time of sampling. Microbiome-informed subgrouping could lead to more personalized treatment strategies. Further validation is needed to determine the clinical utility of these clusters.

RevDate: 2026-04-22
CmpDate: 2026-04-22

Boumasmoud M, León-Sampedro R, Beusch V, et al (2026)

Interspecies interaction controls Escherichia coli growth in human gut microbiome samples.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 123(17):e2527793123.

Gut microbial community composition varies from one person to another. Potentially, this means the ecological interactions experienced by individual strains or species also vary among microbiomes of different people. However, testing this directly in human microbiomes and identifying ecological drivers involved are challenging. Here, we use replicated anaerobic microcosms to quantify variability of population growth for a key commensal species among microbiome samples from different individuals and to identify underlying intra- and interspecific interactions. In a reciprocal transplant experiment, both absolute and relative growth performance of different Escherichia coli strains varied among gut microbiome samples from healthy individuals. This was partly explained by intraspecific competition: growth performance of individual E. coli strains was associated with displacement of resident conspecifics. However, the determinants of E. coli growth varied among samples. In one microbiome sample with a distinctive taxonomic composition, culture acidification by resident microbes impaired growth of all E. coli strains. We identified a strain of Clostridium butyricum contributing to this effect and showed that transferring it into other microbiomes predictably altered pH, fermentation product profiles (butyrate accumulation and acetate/lactate depletion), and population growth of other species including E. coli, thereby reshaping overall taxonomic composition. Our results suggest natural interindividual gut microbiome variation translates to variable ecological interactions with incoming bacteria, but these dynamics can be manipulated by a generalizable interspecies interaction.

RevDate: 2026-04-22

Xie M, Kong L, Hou L, et al (2026)

Atopic Dermatitis: Multi-omics Insights into Microbiota-Driven Modulation of the Gut-Skin Axis.

Microbial pathogenesis pii:S0882-4010(26)00230-5 [Epub ahead of print].

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a heterogeneous inflammatory skin disease resulting from complex interactions among host genetics, immune dysregulation, and microbial imbalance. Recent advances in multi-omics technologies have revealed distinct AD endotypes characterized by specific genetic variants, microbial enterotypes, and metabolite profiles. Emerging evidence highlights the gut-skin axis as an important regulatory pathway, in which alterations in gut microbiota influence the production of key microbial metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and tryptophan-derived aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) ligands, thereby modulating Th2-dominant inflammatory responses. Integrated analyses combining metagenomics, metabolomics, and single-cell transcriptomics have further identified endotype-specific signatures, such as Bacteroides-enriched profiles associated with lipopolysaccharide-driven inflammation and Prevotella-dominant clusters linked to enhanced AHR activation and epithelial barrier repair. These findings provide a basis for precision stratification and the development of targeted therapeutic strategies, including genotype-guided biologics, microbiota modulation, engineered probiotics, phage therapy, and fecal microbiota transplantation. This review summarizes current evidence integrating host genetics, microbiota networks, and multi-omics biomarkers to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding AD endotypes and to highlight potential avenues for precision diagnosis and targeted interventions.

RevDate: 2026-04-23
CmpDate: 2026-04-23

Wang Y, Fu J, Zhan J, et al (2026)

Panax ginseng-Polygonum cuspidatum is beneficial for alleviating atherosclerosis in ApoE[-/-] mice by modulating the composition of gut microbiota and related metabolites.

Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, 13:1773819.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis (AS) is a central pathological driver underlying most cardiovascular diseases. Gut microbiota and related metabolites participate in regulating atherosclerosis. Panax ginseng and Polygonum cuspidatum (GP) herb pair has traditionally been used for cardiovascular diseases. Some active compounds in GP have shown anti-atherosclerotic effects and the effects of GP still needs more evidence-based supports. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential effects of GP on atherosclerosis and explore the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS: Fifty C57BL/6J ApoE[-/-] mice were randomly assigned to five groups: model, statin, low-dose GP, medium-dose GP and high-dose GP. They were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce atherosclerosis. Ten wild-type C57BL/6J mice were given chow diet and served as controls. After 12-week intervention, their aortic tissues were collected for Oil Red O staining, colon tissues for Alcian staining and immunofluorescence, and serum samples for measurement of lipid levels and inflammatory cytokines. Then, their fecal DNA was extracted for metagenomic sequencing, while cecum and ileocecal valves were for untargeted metabolomics. Finally, fecal microbiota transplantation was performed to assess the contribution of gut microbiota to observed effects. Twenty additional ApoE[-/-] mice were randomized to two groups: FMT-Mod and FMT-GPH, given feces from the model or high-dose GP group.

RESULTS: Atherosclerotic plaques accumulated in the aorta and aortic sinus after HFD, while statin and high-dose GP alleviated this burden. TC, TG, LDL-C, MCP-1, MCP-3 and IL-2 showed significant increase after HFD, while statin and GP decreased LDL-C, MCP-1 and MCP-3. The goblet cells, ZO-1 and Occludin decreased after HFD, while statin and GP increased them, indicating that the intestinal barrier integrity was improved. Additionally, the composition of gut microbiota was modulated by GP. Some candidate taxa were identified, such as Bifidobacteriales, Bacteroidetes and Escherichia coli. Twenty-two metabolites were differentially abundant among the control, model and GP groups. Nineteen of them were modulated by HFD and reversed by GP, including 1-methylnicotinamide, dopamine and lysoPA (0:0/18:0). Mice given fecal transplants from the high-dose GP group showed less aortic plaques, lower levels of some lipid and inflammatory cytokines, more goblet cells, more expression of ZO-1 and Occludin, and more 1-methylnicotinamide than those given fecal transplants from the model group.

CONCLUSION: This study suggests that GP is beneficial for alleviating atherosclerosis in HFD-induced ApoE[-/-] mice, potentially by modulating the composition of gut microbiota and related metabolites.

RevDate: 2026-04-23
CmpDate: 2026-04-23

Borrego-Ruiz A, JJ Borrego (2026)

The Gut Microbiome in Sleep Disorders: A Review of Recent Evidence.

Actas espanolas de psiquiatria, 54(2):586-601.

Alterations in the gut microbiome have been shown to influence sleep through gut-brain interactions. However, the interplay between the gut microbiome and sleep disorders remains insufficiently understood. This narrative review provides an overview of recent evidence on the role of the gut microbiome in sleep disorders, examining host-microbial regulation of the sleep cycle, the relationship between gut microbiome dysbiosis and sleep disorders, the influence of the gut microbiome on sleep-related breathing disorders, sleep deprivation, and sleep fragmentation, as well as microbial therapeutic approaches to sleep disorders. Through its effects on bacterial metabolites, immune responses, and neuronal signaling, the gut microbiome might be potentially involved in the regulation of sleep-wake cycles. Disturbances in sleep have been associated with shifts in gut microbiome composition, but this relationship remains incompletely understood and it suggests a bidirectional nature. Evidence indicates that interventions targeting the gut microbiome, such as the use of psychobiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation, may have potential for improving sleep outcomes, but further research is needed to determine their actual effectiveness. Understanding the full range of factors influencing the gut microbiome and their interactions with other variables will be essential for elucidating the mechanisms behind gut-sleep interactions. Thus, future studies should focus on clarifying causality, identifying key biomarkers, and developing microbial-based interventions to establish effective therapeutic strategies.

RevDate: 2026-04-23
CmpDate: 2026-04-23

Li J, Liu J, Chen M, et al (2026)

Observation of the Therapeutic Effect of Washed Microbiota Transplantation on Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Actas espanolas de psiquiatria, 54(2):263-275.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective study evaluated the efficacy and safety of washed microbiota transplantation (WMT) via trans colonic endoscopic administration tube for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

METHODS: The clinical data of 19 children with ASD treated between November 2021 and December 2023 were analysed. The data included scores on the Autism Behaviour Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and PedsQL™ 3.0 Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scales (PedsQL-GI) before treatment and one and six months post-WMT, as well as faecal 16S rRNA sequencing results (vs. healthy controls).

RESULTS: ABC, CARS and PedsQL-GI scores improved significantly over time (all p < 0.001, large effect sizes). CARS and PedsQL-GI scores decreased notably at one and six months after treatment. ABC scores reduced significantly only at six months posttreatment. PedsQLGI scores at six months posttreatment further declined relative to those atone month posttreatment, whereas ABC and CARS scores remained stable. Subgroup analysis showed greater score reductions in the high-score ASD and constipation subgroups than in other patients. Faecal microbiota analysis revealed structural differences between ASD and healthy children. WMT altered gut flora structure and increased beneficial bacteria (e.g., Faecalibacterium).

CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary findings suggest that WMT may improve gastrointestinal and core symptoms in children with ASD, especially those in high-score subgroups. Caution is needed given this study's small sample size, and large prospective studies are required for validation.

RevDate: 2026-04-23
CmpDate: 2026-04-23

Lei P, Qi Z, Ma Q, et al (2026)

Gut microbiota reshapes host energy metabolism to modulate depressive behaviors.

Gut microbes, 18(1):2662556.

Disturbances in energy metabolism are a key pathophysiological feature of major depressive disorder (MDD). The gut microbiota, as a critical regulator of host metabolism, may influence systemic energy homeostasis and contribute to depression. To investigate this, we performed a multi-omics analysis integrating targeted metabolomics and shotgun metagenomics on samples from 100 MDD patients and 68 healthy controls. MDD patients exhibited significant disruptions in central energy pathways (glycolysis, TCA cycle, and ornithine cycle), which correlated with symptom severity and cognitive impairment. We identified 36 bacterial species whose abundances were linked to mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis, ketogenesis, and amino acid metabolism, and were associated with altered levels of core metabolites like lactate and L-glutamic acid. Mediation analysis established a "gut microbiota-energy metabolites-depressive phenotype" axis, where metabolites mediated the effects of specific bacteria (e.g., Dorea_formicigenerans) on symptoms. To validate causality, we used a chronic social defeat stress mouse model with simultaneous autologous fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). FMT effectively reshaped the gut microbiota, ameliorated depression-like behaviors, and reversed the stress-induced shift toward anaerobic glycolysis in serum and the central nervous system. Critically, FMT restored mitochondrial morphology and structural integrity in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, renormalizing the relationship between metabolism and behavior. Our findings elucidate the gut microbiota's role in MDD pathogenesis via host energy metabolism regulation and posit early autologous FMT as a novel strategy to correct central energy imbalances.

RevDate: 2026-04-23

Song H, Wang J, Hao Y, et al (2026)

Gut microbiota dysbiosis induced by tibial dyschondroplasia in turn accelerates disease pathogenesis through the gut-bone axis in broilers.

Poultry science, 105(7):106927 pii:S0032-5791(26)00556-0 [Epub ahead of print].

Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is a common and economically significant skeletal disorder in broilers, characterized by unmineralized, avascular cartilage plugs protruding into the metaphyseal region. Despite some evidence connecting the gut microbiota to skeletal disorders, the specific microbial drivers of TD pathogenesis remain unclear. In this study, we performed fecal microbiota transplantation in both healthy and TD model broilers to assess the influence and contribution of gut microbiota dysbiosis to TD pathogenesis. The broilers were allocated into 4 groups: CON (normal control group broilers), TD (TD model broilers), TDRN (TD model broilers that received FMT from normal broilers) and NRTD (normal broilers that received FMT from TD model broilers). Results demonstrated that FMT successfully transferred the TD phenotype from diseased to healthy broilers (NRTD group), whereas transplantation from healthy donors did not reverse the TD phenotype in TD broilers (TDRN group). This to some extent indicates that gut microbiota as a critical pathogenic driver. Microbiome analysis revealed significant depletion of Lactobacillus and enrichment of Streptococcus and Escherichia-Shigella in all TD-affected groups (TD, TDRN, NRTD) compared to controls (P < 0.05). Metabolomic profiling identified seven stably dysregulated metabolites. Among them, chenodeoxycholic acid showed a strong positive correlation with Lactobacillus abundance and tibial mineral content, while 2-methoxyestradiol (an estrogen metabolite) exhibited inverse associations. Collectively, these findings provide evidence that gut microbiota dysbiosis causally contributes to TD and define the Lactobacillus-chenodeoxycholic acid axis and estrogen metabolism as promising targets for preventive and management strategies against TD in broilers.

RevDate: 2026-04-22
CmpDate: 2026-04-22

Cheng L, Li Y, Zhang Y, et al (2026)

Cetobacterium somerae as a microbial correlate of improved muscle quality after intestinal microbiota transplantation in Yellow River carp (Cyprinus carpio).

NPJ biofilms and microbiomes, 12(1):.

Dietary faba bean enhances fish muscle quality but concurrently reduces growth performance. The gut microbiota critically modulates muscle growth and quality. However, the specific microbial taxa, metabolites, and regulatory mechanisms responsible remain to be elucidated. This study established a differential gut microbiota model in faba-bean-fed Yellow River carp (Cyprinus carpio), used whole-intestinal microbiota transplantation (WIMT) to directly test its effect on muscle quality, and supplemented the key bacterium and its metabolite to confirm their contribution. After a 6-week faba bean diet, growth performance declined, whereas muscle texture improved (P < 0.05). This improvement was concomitant with a higher abundance of the genera Aeromonas and Cetobacterium in the gut. Following 8 weeks of daily WIMT from faba-bean-fed donors, Yellow River carp maintained normal growth performance (P > 0.05) and simultaneously showed improved muscle texture, characterized by more small-diameter fibers, lower fat content, and higher collagen levels (P < 0.05), recapitulating the donor's key muscle phenotype. Meanwhile, WIMT reshaped the gut microbiome composition and its metabolic profile, and the marker species Cetobacterium somerae and its metabolite acetic acid showed associations with improvements in muscle quality. Further in vivo validation indicated that C. somerae reduced fat deposition and improved muscle texture, an effect possibly linked to activation of the AMPK-PGC-1α-FoxO pathway, and its metabolite acetic acid mirrored these changes. This study reveals the direct impact of gut microbiota on muscle quality through WIMT in Yellow River carp, provides novel evidence of the fish gut-muscle axis, and offers a scientific basis for improving muscle quality.

RevDate: 2026-04-21
CmpDate: 2026-04-21

Zheng X, Ye DD, Weng XY, et al (2026)

[Therapeutic effects of Baitouweng Decoction on ulcerative colitis mice with dampness-heat syndrome via inhibiting CaSR-Gq/11-MAPK signaling pathway based on fecal microbiota transplantation].

Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica, 51(5):1259-1272.

This study aimed to investigate whether Baitouweng Decoction(BTD) exerts pharmacodynamic effects on ulcerative colitis(UC) mice with dampness-heat syndrome in the large intestine by modulating the gut microbiota and its metabolites to inhibit the calcium sensing receptor(CaSR)-G-protein alpha subunit Q/G-protein alpha subunit 11(Gq/11)-mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPK) signaling pathway. In the experiment, mice were divided into the following groups: a normal group, a model group, a Baitouweng Decoction fecal microbiota transplantation(BTD-FMT) group, a normal-FMT group, and a normal-FMT + Akkermansia muciniphila group. Except for the normal group, a UC with dampness-heat syndrome model was established in all mice. The corresponding fecal supernatant or Akkermansia muciniphila was administered on days 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21. Items below were recorded: body weight, diet, dampness-heat syndrome modeling conditions, and disease activity index(DAI) scores. The distribution and fluorescence intensity of fluorescein isothiocyanate(FITC)-Dextran in the gut were detected using a small animal 3D live imaging system. Pathological changes in the colon and tongue tissues were observed using hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The mRNA expression of inflammatory factors and Muc2 in colon tissue was measured by quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR). The expression levels of forkhead box protein p3(Foxp3) and retinoic acid related orphan receptor γt(RORγt) in colon tissue were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Goblet cell and mucin expression were analyzed by alcian blue-periodic acid-Schiff(AB-PAS) staining. Western blot was employed to detect the expression of Zonula occludens-1(ZO-1), Occludin, Claudin-1, CaSR, G-protein alpha subunit αQ(Gnaq), G-protein alpha subunit 11(Gna11), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2(ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase(JNK), mitogen-activated protein kinase p38(p38 MAPK, p38), phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2(p-ERK1/2), phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase(p-JNK), and phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase p38(p-p38 MAPK, p-p38) in colon tissue. The results indicated that compared with the normal group, model mice with dampness-heat syndrome showed significant increases in rectal temperature, water intake, DAI scores, total movement trajectories/distance traveled in the open field test, and dampness-heat syndrome scores. Compared with the model group, BTD-FMT exerted therapeutic effects on UC mice with dampness-heat syndrome, which were evidenced by significantly ameliorated dampness-heat symptoms and tongue tissue pathology, reduced DAI scores, restored colon length, decreased colon histopathological scores, and modulated immune responses. Furthermore, BTD-FMT downregulated the mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), and interleukin-6(IL-6) while upregulating interleukin-10(IL-10) and interleukin-4(IL-4) expression. Barrier protein levels were appropriately upregulated, alleviating increased intestinal barrier permeability. Additionally, the expression balance between Foxp3 and RORγt was restored, the goblet cell repair and mucin expression were promoted, and the expression of key proteins in the CaSR-Gq/11-MAPK signaling pathway was suppressed in colon tissue. In terms of therapeutic effect, BTD-FMT was superior to normal-FMT. Supplementation with Akkermansia muciniphila partially mimicked the therapeutic effects of BTD-FMT and achieved a synergistic effect when combined with normal-FMT. In conclusion, BTD exerts anti-inflammatory and intestinal mucosal barrier repair effects in UC mice with dampness-heat syndrome via gut microbiota and metabolite modulation, and the CaSR-Gq/11-MAPK signaling pathway inhibition. Akkermansia muciniphila enhances the effect of normal-FMT.

RevDate: 2026-04-21
CmpDate: 2026-04-21

Green ER, Negretti NM, Brunner TH, et al (2026)

The intestinal microbiota impacts nutritional immunity and resistance to Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 123(17):e2534432123.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are frequently administered to intensive care unit patients as part of empiric care. This treatment has been associated with subsequent infections by the emerging nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii; however, the mechanisms underlying this linkage remain unclear. Here, we observe an association between antibiotic treatment and microbiota disruption that precedes A. baumannii infection in a hospitalized patient cohort and demonstrate in a murine model that broad-spectrum antibiotic administration drives susceptibility to intranasal infection with this pathogen. Reconstitution of the intestinal microbiota by fecal microbiota transplant restores control of A. baumannii bloodstream dissemination, implicating microbiota dysbiosis as a key driver of pulmonary disease. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we determine that antibiotic pretreatment reduces the abundance of transcripts related to phagocyte effector functions in the lung, including nutritional immunity pathways that restrict pathogen access to essential nutrient metals. Depletion studies identify neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes as central mediators of microbiota-dependent protection, and loss of the nutritional immunity components lipocalin-2 or calprotectin abrogates the effects of antibiotics on infected mice, demonstrating a causal relationship between microbiota dysbiosis and impaired phagocyte-mediated nutritional immunity. Together, these findings provide a mechanism for the increased severity of A. baumannii pneumonia following antibiotic exposure and highlight the intestinal microbiota as a potential therapeutic target to prevent nosocomial infections with this and other healthcare-associated pathogens.

RevDate: 2026-04-21

Zheng M, Yan H, Hao W, et al (2026)

Gut microbiota-derived ergothioneine alleviates antipsychotic-induced synaptic and cognitive impairments.

Cell host & microbe pii:S1931-3128(26)00128-9 [Epub ahead of print].

Chronic antipsychotic use is associated with neuronal damage and cognitive impairment, with the gut microbiome increasingly implicated. However, the specific microbial metabolites and mechanisms involved remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that chronic olanzapine treatment induces gut microbial dysbiosis, compromises intestinal barrier integrity, and causes cognitive deficits in mice. Multi-omics analyses reveal profound depletion of the microbiota-associated metabolite ergothioneine in blood and brain, a finding validated in the blood of olanzapine-treated patients and risperidone- and clozapine-treated mice. This deficiency correlates with a loss of ergothioneine-producing bacteria (Cyanobacteria and subordinate taxa). Fecal microbiota transplantation from olanzapine-treated mice confers cognitive impairment, while ergothioneine supplementation mitigates it. Mechanistically, ergothioneine attenuates hippocampal oxidative stress and inhibits the redox-sensitive phosphatase protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). Furthermore, hippocampal neuronal-specific PTP1B deletion abolishes olanzapine-induced synaptic and cognitive deficits. Our findings identify depletion of microbiota-derived ergothioneine as a mechanism underlying antipsychotic-induced cognitive impairment, highlighting therapeutic strategies to mitigate this side effect.

RevDate: 2026-04-22
CmpDate: 2026-04-22

Atzeni A, Mingaila J, Alzbutas G, et al (2026)

Comorbid Alzheimer's Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Microbiota Shape Age-Associated Gut-Brain Axis Profiles.

Aging cell, 25(5):e70488.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) share metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms, potentially mediated by the gut microbiota, yet the neurobiological impact of comorbid AD+T2DM microbiota from elderly donors remains unexplored. Fecal microbiota from healthy, AD, T2DM, and AD+T2DM postmenopausal female donors (aged 56-89 years) was transplanted into antibiotic-treated male mice. Behavioral testing, blood profiling, hippocampal neurotrophic gene expression, and 16S rRNA sequencing with taxonomic, functional, and metabolic analyses were performed. Human AD+T2DM microbiota displayed the greatest dysbiosis, characterized by enrichment of pro-inflammatory taxa, depletion of butyrate-producing genera, and loss of neuroprotective metabolic pathways. FMT induced robust engraftment, with AD+T2DM recipients diverging most from controls (PERMANOVA R[2] = 0.209, p = 0.001) and healthy recipients (PERMANOVA R[2] = 0.111, p = 0.002). Donor age contributed significantly to recipient microbiota variation (R[2] = 0.028, p = 0.006), suggesting transmission of aging-associated microbial signatures. Hippocampal neurotrophic gene expression was most suppressed in AD+T2DM recipients (adjusted p value < 0.05) and negatively correlated with disease- and aging-associated taxa and microbial functions (|r| > 0.4, FDR p < 0.05). AD recipients showed reduced olfactory discrimination and increased daytime locomotor activity. Metabolic network analysis revealed depletion of flavonoid, isoflavonoid, and lignan biosynthesis pathways in disease recipients. These findings suggest that microbiota from elderly donors with comorbid AD+T2DM may induce gut-brain axis alterations, linking aging, metabolic dysfunction, and neurodegeneration through convergent taxonomic, functional, and neurotrophic changes. We underscore the potential role of age-associated gut microbial signatures in modulating neurobiological outcomes.

RevDate: 2026-04-22

Chen P, Geng Q, Zhu W, et al (2026)

Gut microbiota-driven pre-metastatic niche formation in colorectal cancer liver metastasis: mechanisms and translational significance.

Gut pathogens pii:10.1186/s13099-026-00832-6 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Liver metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major clinical challenge, closely linked to poor prognosis and limited therapeutic efficacy. Emerging evidence implicates the gut microbiota in orchestrating the formation and maturation of the hepatic pre-metastatic niche (PMN) through the gut-liver axis.

MAIN BODY: Dysbiosis-induced disruption of intestinal barrier integrity facilitates microbial translocation, which triggers hepatic inflammation, immune suppression, metabolic reprogramming, and vascular remodelling, together creating a permissive soil for metastatic seeding. Among pathogenic taxa, Fusobacterium nucleatum has emerged as a key driver because it persistently colonises both primary tumours and hepatic metastases while modulating immunotolerance and chemoresistance. Therapeutically, narrow-spectrum antimicrobial approaches that target pro-metastatic taxa show promise for safely and selectively correcting microbiota-mediated PMN formation. In addition, faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors and anti-angiogenic therapy has yielded encouraging responses in refractory metastatic CRC by boosting anti-tumour immunity and restoring hepatic microvascular architecture.

CONCLUSION: Future research should integrate multidimensional biomarker assessment with personalised, microbiota-based therapeutic frameworks to achieve effective and durable prevention of CRC liver metastasis.

RevDate: 2026-04-22
CmpDate: 2026-04-22

Li Z, Samui S, Liu J, et al (2026)

Gut microbiome and metabolic health: mechanisms and precision interventions.

Gut microbes, 18(1):2644677.

The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as a fundamental regulator of metabolic health, shaping energy balance, insulin sensitivity, inflammatory tone, and inter-organ communication through a broad spectrum of microbial metabolites that engage host signaling pathways. In this review, we synthesize current mechanistic insights into how gut microbial communities shape metabolic function, with particular emphasis on short-chain fatty acids, secondary bile acid signaling, gut barrier integrity, immune modulation, and the microbiota-gut-brain-pancreas axis. We further summarize disease-associated alterations in microbial composition and function across obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and metabolic syndrome, highlighting key microbial and metabolic features that contribute to metabolic dysfunction. Evidence from germ-free models, fecal microbiota transplantation studies, and strain-level interventions suggests that shifts in microbial ecology may causally shape metabolic outcomes. We also critically evaluate emerging microbiome-centered therapeutic strategies, including targeted probiotics, prebiotics, dietary modulation, and fecal microbiota transplantation, while addressing factors that underlie inter-individual variability in treatment responses. In addition, we discuss the growing influence of multi-omics technologies, microbial metabolic modeling, and machine learning approaches in advancing precision microbiome medicine. To integrate these advances within a coherent framework, we outline a precision microbiome intervention pipeline linking multidimensional profiling to functional stratification and targeted therapeutic design. We also introduce a conceptual Precision Microbiome Intervention Triangle to mechanistically explain heterogeneity in responses to microbiome-targeted therapies. Collectively, these insights establish and position the gut microbiome as both a mechanistic driver and a modifiable therapeutic target in metabolic disease, and highlight key challenges and future directions for the development of personalized microbiome-based metabolic interventions.

RevDate: 2026-04-21

Zhang J, Zhou Y, Mei X, et al (2026)

Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential of tryptophan metabolism in gut-brain signaling transduction: a narrative review.

Journal of neuroinflammation, 23(1):.

As an essential amino acid, tryptophan (Trp) serves as a pivotal mediator in gut-brain axis (GBA) communication through three primary metabolic pathways: kynurenine (Kyn), indole, and serotonin (5-HT), which together regulate neuroimmune and neuroendocrine homeostasis via the vagus and spinal afferent nerves, circulatory system, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This review systematically examines Trp metabolism’s critical roles in GBA, emphasizing molecular pathways, rate-limiting enzymes, and receptor-mediated signaling. We discuss the bidirectional interplay between gut microbiota and host Trp metabolism, encompassing microbial modulation of host enzyme activities such as indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and direct production of bioactive indole derivatives like indole-3-propionic acid. Characteristic disruptions in Trp metabolism patterns are identified across GBA-associated disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease, marked by aberrant neurotoxic to neuroprotective metabolite ratios and enzymatic dysregulation. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) emerges as a molecular hub connecting Trp metabolites to GBA functions, with distinct metabolites eliciting opposing effects through AhR activation. Therapeutic strategies targeting Trp metabolism are critically evaluated, including fecal microbiota transplantation, probiotic supplementation, metabolite administration, and enzyme inhibitors. Future research directions address mechanistic gaps and translational challenges in restoring GBA homeostasis via Trp pathway modulation.

RevDate: 2026-04-20
CmpDate: 2026-04-20

Tang H, Wu M, Tan S, et al (2026)

Uterine microbiota dynamics and new therapeutic opportunities in gynecological diseases.

American journal of translational research, 18(3):1768-1791.

Traditional view holds that the uterus is a sterile environment. However, with the increased development of molecular biology technologies, this classical theory has been re-examined. Increasing evidence shows that a low-biomass, uniquely structured microecosystem exists in the healthy uterus. Its composition and dynamic changes are crucial in maintaining endometrial homeostasis, regulating immune responses, and influencing embryo implantation. Uterine microecological imbalance is associated with different gynecological diseases, such as chronic endometritis, endometriosis, and uterine-related tumors. This paper systematically reviews the compositional features of the uterine microecology and the dynamic changes in bacterial communities, as well as summarizes the evidence linking these changes to major gynecological diseases. This work examines current treatment and intervention strategies including antibiotics, probiotics, uterine cavity colonization, and fecal microbiota transplantation, and discusses their potential clinical value and methodological challenges. A deeper investigation of the relationship between uterine microecology and gynecological diseases is expected to provide new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the precise diagnosis and treatment of gynecological disorders.

RevDate: 2026-04-21
CmpDate: 2026-04-21

Poznyak AV, Vatlin AA, Pavshintsev VV, et al (2026)

An overview of the role of the gut microbiota in rheumatoid arthritis.

Microbiome research reports, 5(1):3.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease preceded by a prolonged preclinical phase marked by the emergence of autoantibodies and mucosal immune dysregulation. Evidence from human studies and animal models consistently demonstrates that gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to this transition, particularly through impaired intestinal barrier function, activation of pro-inflammatory pathways, and molecular mimicry. Specific taxa - including Prevotella copri, Collinsella aerofaciens, and reductions in butyrate-producing bacteria - have been linked to heightened systemic inflammation, increased T helper 17 responses, and the generation of RA-associated autoantibodies. Current research also indicates that anti-rheumatic medications such as methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and minocycline produce measurable shifts in gut microbial composition, suggesting that microbiota-drug interactions may influence treatment response. Therapeutic approaches aimed at modifying gut ecology - including dietary interventions, prebiotics, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation - show early potential in restoring microbial balance, improving intestinal barrier integrity, and reducing inflammatory markers, although evidence in the preclinical RA stage remains limited. Additionally, emerging data highlight the importance of intestinal autophagy and microRNA networks in regulating epithelial integrity and systemic immune activation. Taken together, the literature supports a mechanistic link between gut dysbiosis and the onset of RA. It points to microbiota-targeted strategies as promising avenues for delaying or preventing disease progression. Future studies should prioritize longitudinal analyses and interventional trials focusing specifically on individuals at risk for RA.

RevDate: 2026-04-21

Narang H, Talukdar D, Kumar B, et al (2026)

Fecal Microbiota Transplant and Multidrug-Resistant Organism Decolonization in Gastrointestinal Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

JAMA internal medicine pii:2848025 [Epub ahead of print].

IMPORTANCE: Gut colonization by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) is a risk factor for infection with these pathogens. There are no approved therapeutic interventions to combat it.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) in causing MDRO decolonization and decreasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes and its impact on gut microbiome, virome, and mycobiome composition in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.

This randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial was conducted in a gastroenterology ward and intensive care unit at a tertiary care center in India. Participants were patients with GI diseases with persistent MDRO colonization. Patient recruitment occurred from July 2022 to June 2024, with follow-up completed in July 2024. Data were analyzed from October 1, 2024, to April 25, 2025.

INTERVENTION: FMT via colonoscopy or sham intervention (sigmoidoscopy with saline injection).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Co-primary outcomes were MDRO decolonization rate and decrease in antimicrobial resistance genes (AMR) at 4 weeks after the intervention. Secondary outcomes included changes in stool microbiome (16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing), virome (viruslike particles shotgun sequencing), and mycobiome (ITS2 sequencing); incidence of MDRO infections; and adverse events within 4 weeks.

RESULTS: Of 114 randomized patients (mean [SD] age, 40.6 [12.5] years; 80 [70.2%] male; 52 patients [45.6%] with pancreatitis; 43 patients [37.7%] with cirrhosis; 19 patients [16.7%] with other GI disorders), 58 received FMT and 56 received the sham intervention. Most patients were colonized with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae or extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae at baseline (55 patients [94.8%] in the FMT group and 56 patients [100%] in the sham group). Five patients (2 in the FMT group, 3 in the sham group) were lost to follow-up. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no significant differences in MDRO decolonization (18 patients [31.0%] in the FMT group vs 17 patients [30.4%] in the sham group; absolute difference, 0.6% [95% CI, -16.2% to 17.6%]; P = .94) or AMR genes (median [IQR], 2.5 [1.2 to 3.0] genes in the FMT group vs 2.0 [1.0 to 3.0] genes in the sham group; P = .68), with comparable adverse events. Among 71 patients who underwent 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing at 4 to 6 weeks after the intervention, enrichment of bacteria capable of producing short-chain fatty acids was observed in the FMT group. These microbial alterations were not observed in the sham group. However, viral diversity remained unchanged after FMT. Mycobiome analysis revealed that FMT induced only modest, transient alterations in the gut mycobiome.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This randomized clinical trial found that while a single session of FMT did not significantly enhance MDRO decolonization or decrease AMR genes in patients with GI diseases, it modulated gut microbiome diversity and composition.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials Registry-India Registration No. 2022/07/043847.

RevDate: 2026-04-21

Kelly BJ, Woodworth MH, JH Kwon (2026)

Fecal Microbiota Transplant for Multidrug Resistance-No Benefit Without Disruption?.

JAMA internal medicine pii:2848028 [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-04-21
CmpDate: 2026-04-21

Couturier J, Kenner E, Nicula M, et al (2026)

Protocol for a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial of fecal microbiota transplantation for adolescent anorexia nervosa.

BMJ open, 16(4):e109115 pii:bmjopen-2025-109115.

INTRODUCTION: Despite its serious impact, anorexia nervosa (AN) remains one of the least understood mental illnesses, with significant gaps in effective treatment options. No medications have been deemed effective and only 50% of individuals respond to conventional psychotherapies. Gastrointestinal (GI) bacteria have been found to be altered in individuals with AN. While, Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has shown potential for alleviating anxiety and depression, its effects remain understudied for individuals with AN. This study aims to determine whether oral capsular FMT is acceptable to adolescents with AN and results in clinical improvement in weight and/or psychological symptoms.

METHODS: This study will randomise 20 adolescents with AN, ages 12-17 years, to receive either FMT or placebo capsules. These 20 youth, as well as an additional 10 youth who decline trial enrolment, will participate in qualitative interviews. We will track recruitment rates and collect psychological and biological measures (blood, stool, urine and saliva) at multiple timepoints to assess how gut microbiota and their metabolites may influence the symptoms of AN. Interviews with participants and caregivers will explore their experiences and views on FMT as a treatment approach.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has received ethics approval by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (#17493) and investigational drug approval by Health Canada (Dossier ID: c292423). Informed consent will be obtained by research staff from all participants. Findings will be disseminated through academic conferences, clinical forums and partnerships with advocacy organisations to reach clinicians, researchers and individuals with lived experience.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT06593366.

RevDate: 2026-04-20

Swain MP, Mehta CH, Padya BS, et al (2026)

Microbiome modulating remedies for chronic diseases: a review of current interventions and future directions.

Inflammopharmacology [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-04-21

Tang J, Wang L, Yang Z, et al (2026)

Gut microbiota induces dysspermatogenesis via microbial-derived phenylacetylglycine in Ggt1-deficient mice.

Microbiome pii:10.1186/s40168-026-02401-0 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Male infertility represents a global health concern, with emerging evidence linking gut microbiota dysbiosis to dysspermatogenesis and subfertility. However, the molecular mediators and regulatory mechanisms by which gut microbiota influences testicular functions remain poorly defined.

RESULTS: This study demonstrates that male gamma-glutamyl transferase 1-deletion (Ggt1[-/-]) mice exhibits infertility phenotypes, including reduced germ and testicular Leydig cell numbers, increased rates of abnormal sperm, and altered reproductive hormone levels. Metabolomic analysis reveals elevated levels of the gut microbial-derived metabolite phenylacetylglycine (PAGly) in serum and testes of Ggt1[-/-] mice, with in vivo injection experiments indicating its role in impairing spermatogenesis. Moreover, blocking PAGly effectively restores the impaired spermatogenesis in Ggt1[-/-] mice. Fecal metagenomic and metabolomic analyses show that gut microbiota in Ggt1[-/-] mice induces elevation of phenylacetic acid, a precursor metabolite of PAGly. Strikingly, fecal microbiota transplantation from Ggt1[-/-] mice (Ggt1[-/-]-FMT) recapitulates the infertility phenotypes including reduced germ cells and increased rates of abnormal sperm. Mechanistically, integrated CUT&Tag and ATAC-Seq analyses reveal that transcription factor STAT5B occupies regulatory elements near Klk1b transcription start sites (TSS), confirming that transcription factor STAT5B directly regulates Klk1b gene transcription. Concretely, PAGly activates β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) on Leydig cells, triggering STAT3 phosphorylation, subsequent SOCS3 upregulation, and STAT5B phosphorylation suppression; p-STAT5B with transcriptional activation function is reduced, then Klk1b gene transcription is compromised, and therefore spermatogenesis is disrupted.

CONCLUSION: Ggt1 deletion-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis disrupts spermatogenesis via β2AR-STAT3-SOCS3-STAT5B-Klk1bs signaling pathway. Specifically, PAGly-induced β2AR activation promotes STAT3 phosphorylation, which induces SOCS3 to suppress p-STAT5B dependent Klk1bs transcription. This mechanism underscores the critical role of gut-derived metabolites in regulating testicular function and identifies potential targets for microbiota-modulated male infertility. Video Abstract.

RevDate: 2026-04-17

Allerton F, Whittle MJ, Durkin L, et al (2026)

Clinical benefit of faecal microbiota transplantation administered via a single retention enema as an adjunctive treatment in dogs with chronic enteropathy: a randomised controlled trial.

The Journal of small animal practice [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical benefit of faecal microbiota transplantation administered via a single retention enema, as an adjunctive treatment in the management of dogs with chronic enteropathy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blinded, randomised controlled trial. Dogs with chronic enteropathy (>3 weeks of small or mixed intestinal diarrhoea) were randomly allocated to either the faecal microbiota transplantation or standard treatment group (ratio 1:1) via blinded selection. Dogs in the standard treatment group had a diet change only, while dogs in the faecal microbiota transplantation group had a diet change and faecal microbiota transplantation. faecal microbiota transplantation was performed using fresh faecal material from donor dogs, screened for selected enteropathogens and administered via retention rectal enema. Outcomes measured included the Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity Index, faecal score and the owner's reported improvement. Group comparisons were made using Fisher's exact tests (owner-reported outcomes) and Kruskal-Wallis tests adjusted for ties (Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity Index and faecal score).

RESULTS: Forty-two dogs with chronic enteropathy (median Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity Index score 6 [range 4 to 11]) were included in the study. Twenty-five dogs were randomly assigned to receive faecal microbiota transplantation, while 17 dogs were allocated to standard treatment. A progressive improvement in stool consistency (reduced faecal score) was recorded over time for most dogs in both groups. By Day 90, the rates of owner-defined clinical improvement were 76% (CI 54% to 90%) in the faecal microbiota transplantation group and 73% (CI 40% to 92%) in the standard treatment group. No significant differences were evident between the two groups based on the proportion of owners that reported clinical improvement, Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity Index score or faecal score.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study did not demonstrate a clear clinical benefit for adjunctive faecal microbiota transplantation via single retention enema in dogs with chronic enteropathy compared to diet change alone, although the small sample size means that a type II error cannot be excluded. The similar outcome for both groups supports high rates of food responsiveness among this cohort of chronic enteropathy dogs.

RevDate: 2026-04-17
CmpDate: 2026-04-17

Rode AA, Duboc H, Lamazière A, et al (2026)

Re-establishing bile acid composition after treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection with fecal microbiota transplantation compared with oral vancomycin or a 12-strain bacterial mixture.

Gut microbes, 18(1):2658915.

Patients with Clostridioides difficile infection have high colonic levels of primary bile acids, which are potent germinators of Clostridioides difficile. Several studies have suggested that re-establishing a normal bile acid composition is a key factor in fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for recurrent C. difficile infection, yet former studies supporting this lacked controls. In a subgroup from a randomized controlled trial, we compared the bile acid composition in patients with recurrent C. difficile infection treated with either FMT, a bacterial mixture, or vancomycin. The fecal bile acid content was analyzed several times before and after treatments. Furthermore, we used 16S rDNA gene sequencing to analyze the presence of some bacterial species involved in bile acid metabolism. Stool donors served as healthy controls. We observed a higher proportion of primary bile acids in patients with recurrent C. difficile infection than in donors, yet a donor-like dominance of secondary bile acids was observed after successful treatment in all groups. The shift seemed to occur earliest in the FMT group, followed by the vancomycin group, and the latest in the bacterial mixture group. In approximately half of the participants, the rise in secondary bile acids was timely associated with the detection of bile acid-transforming bacteria that were absent before treatment. Our findings indicate that FMT re-establishes the bile acid composition faster than vancomycin, reducing the time of susceptibility to recurrences of C. difficile infection. Hence, bacterial mixtures developed as an alternative to donor stool for treating recurrent C. difficile infection might benefit from including bile acid-metabolizing bacteria.

RevDate: 2026-04-19

Liu S, Huang Z, Z Guo (2026)

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for gastrointestinal complications after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Transplantation and cellular therapy pii:S2666-6367(26)00303-9 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), patients frequently develop gastrointestinal complications, including microbiota dysbiosis, infectious syndromes, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which remain major contributors to post-transplant morbidity and mortality. In recent years, several studies have explored microbiome-based interventions, particularly fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), as a therapeutic strategy for these complications in this highly immunocompromised population. However, substantial variability exists across studies with respect to clinical indications, FMT protocols, and reported outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically evaluate the reported clinical use of FMT for gastrointestinal complications following allo-HSCT, including microbiota dysbiosis, infectious complications, and GVHD. The aim was to characterize study populations, treatment protocols, and reported clinical outcomes, and to synthesize evidence regarding efficacy and safety, with a focus on indication-specific patterns and potential translational relevance for patient management in this highly immunocompromised population.

STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a PRISMA-compliant systematic review of studies evaluating FMT as a treatment in patients after allo-HSCT. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched through October 2025. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and prospective or retrospective single-arm studies reporting clinical outcomes following FMT. Given the marked heterogeneity in clinical indications, FMT administration strategies, and outcome definitions, study findings were synthesized using a structured narrative approach, with quantitative data summarized descriptively where appropriate.

RESULTS: Twenty studies including patients after allo-HSCT were analyzed. FMT demonstrated high and consistent response rates in non-GVHD indications, whereas GVHD cohorts exhibited more variable responses, with median CR and ORR ranging 50-55% in steroid-refractory cases. One-year overall survival was generally favorable in dysbiosis and infection groups (>70%), but more heterogeneous in GVHD. FMT was well tolerated, with predominantly mild gastrointestinal adverse events; serious events were infrequent and mostly disease-related.

CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence indicates that FMT has been explored as a context-dependent therapy for selected gastrointestinal complications following allo-HSCT, particularly in patients with aGVHD. Nevertheless, substantial heterogeneity in study design, clinical indications, and outcome assessment limits definitive conclusions regarding efficacy. Well-designed prospective studies with standardized treatment indications, outcome measures, and careful consideration of concurrent immunosuppressive therapies are required to better define the optimal role, timing, and patient selection for FMT in the post-transplant treatment setting.

RevDate: 2026-04-19
CmpDate: 2026-04-19

Zhao Y, Qiao M, Ma C, et al (2026)

A fructan-type polysaccharide from Lycium ruthenicum attenuates liver fibrosis via microbiota-dependent ferroptosis inhibition.

Carbohydrate polymers, 382:125243.

Plant-derived polysaccharides represent promising candidates for hepatic fibrosis (HF) therapy through the gut-liver axis. This study investigated the structural characteristics, anti-fibrotic efficacy, and mechanisms of LRMP1, a novel polysaccharide from Lycium ruthenicum Murr. LRMP1 was identified as a homogeneous inulin-type fructan (3.055 kDa) with a → 1)-β-D-Fruf-(2 → backbone terminated by α-D-Glcp-(1 → 2)-β-D-Fruf linkages (DP 4-20). Integrated multi-omics analysis combining hepatic transcriptomics, serum metabolomics, and gut microbiome profiling revealed that LRMP1 ameliorates HF via a gut microbiota-postbiotics-ferroptosis regulatory axis. In both CCl4-induced and MCD diet-induced chronic fibrosis models, LRMP1 significantly attenuated liver injury, fibrosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress, while restoring intestinal barrier integrity. These protective effects correlated with enrichment of beneficial bacteria (Akkermansia muciniphila, Lactobacillus spp.) and pathogen depletion. Mechanistically, LRMP1 suppressed TGF-β signaling and inhibited hepatocyte ferroptosis by restoring the GPX4/SLC7A11 antioxidant system and reducing lipid peroxidation. Serum metabolomics further revealed elevated anti-ferroptotic metabolites and suppressed pro-inflammatory lipids. Crucially, antibiotic depletion abolished LRMP1's efficacy, whereas fecal microbiota transplantation and fermentation supernatant experiments confirmed that microbiota-derived postbiotics selectively protect hepatocytes from ferroptosis. These findings establish LRMP1 as a promising microbiota-targeted polysaccharide for HF intervention through the gut-liver axis.

RevDate: 2026-04-19

Pang J, Ma X, Hong N, et al (2026)

Gut microbiota mediates the antidepressant-like effects of xiaochaihutang: mechanisms involving inhibition of inflammation and enhancement of barrier function.

Journal of natural medicines [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-04-19
CmpDate: 2026-04-20

Morineau N, Tessoulin B, Guimard T, et al (2026)

Longitudinal gut microbiome dynamics are associated with clinical outcome and toxicity during ibrutinib therapy.

Gut microbes, 18(1):2659397.

Accumulating evidence indicates that the gut microbiome influences therapeutic efficacy and toxicity across cancer treatments; however, its longitudinal dynamics during targeted therapies remain poorly characterized. Here, we performed whole-genome shotgun metagenomic sequencing of 291 longitudinal stool samples collected over one year from 30 patients with hematologic malignancies treated with ibrutinib. Overall gut microbial diversity remained stable at the population level but exhibited markedly divergent temporal trajectories according to clinical outcome, with progressive recovery in responders and blunted or delayed restoration in non-responders. Longitudinal modeling revealed distinct species- and pathway-level microbial dynamics between patients with treatment response or nonresponse, including enrichment of saccharolytic, short-chain fatty acid-associated taxa and metabolic pathways in responders, and expansion of bile acid-modifying, proteolytic, and inflammation-associated microbial features in non-responders. Functional profiling further demonstrated opposing temporal trends in pathways related to carbohydrate fermentation, amino-acid metabolism, and secondary bile acid synthesis. In addition, both baseline microbiome composition and longitudinal remodeling were associated with the development of ibrutinib-associated diarrhea. Together, these findings reveal coordinated, outcome-specific remodeling of the gut microbiome during ibrutinib therapy and highlight longitudinal microbiome trajectories, rather than static baseline features, as potential biomarkers of treatment response and toxicity, as well as targets for microbiome-directed interventions. In conclusion, our findings highlight a potential role of gut microbiome dynamics in modulating response to BTK inhibition and support the need for larger, prospective studies to validate these observations.

RevDate: 2026-04-20

Li J, Chen X, X Xie (2026)

Mechanistic insights into gut microbiota-driven autoimmunity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Frontiers in immunology, 17:1812972.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease whose pathogenic drivers and initiating immune events remain incompletely understood. Increasing evidence implicates the gut-joint axis in RA, yet the mechanisms by which intestinal microbiota contribute to disease development still require integrative clarification. This review summarizes current experimental and clinical evidence on the role of gut dysbiosis in promoting autoimmunity in RA. We discuss alterations in microbial composition and their links to barrier dysfunction, immune-cell polarization, microbial metabolites, and antigen-specific immune responses. Human cohort studies and arthritis models suggest that reduced microbial diversity, loss of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing commensals, and expansion of taxa such as Prevotella copri and Collinsella are associated with impaired epithelial integrity, enhanced Th17/Tfh differentiation, reduced regulatory T- and B-cell activity, and increased autoantibody production. Mechanistic studies further support roles for molecular mimicry, microbially derived citrullinated antigens, and metabolite-mediated signaling in the breakdown of immune tolerance and persistence of synovial inflammation. We also discuss emerging microecology-based interventions, including probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, together with their translational potential and current limitations. Overall, available evidence places gut microbiota-mediated immune remodeling at the center of RA pathogenesis and supports precision microbiome modulation as a promising adjunctive strategy for disease prevention and treatment.

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RJR Experience and Expertise

Researcher

Robbins holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in the life sciences. He served as a tenured faculty member in the Zoology and Biological Science departments at Michigan State University. He is currently exploring the intersection between genomics, microbial ecology, and biodiversity — an area that promises to transform our understanding of the biosphere.

Educator

Robbins has extensive experience in college-level education: At MSU he taught introductory biology, genetics, and population genetics. At JHU, he was an instructor for a special course on biological database design. At FHCRC, he team-taught a graduate-level course on the history of genetics. At Bellevue College he taught medical informatics.

Administrator

Robbins has been involved in science administration at both the federal and the institutional levels. At NSF he was a program officer for database activities in the life sciences, at DOE he was a program officer for information infrastructure in the human genome project. At the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, he served as a vice president for fifteen years.

Technologist

Robbins has been involved with information technology since writing his first Fortran program as a college student. At NSF he was the first program officer for database activities in the life sciences. At JHU he held an appointment in the CS department and served as director of the informatics core for the Genome Data Base. At the FHCRC he was VP for Information Technology.

Publisher

While still at Michigan State, Robbins started his first publishing venture, founding a small company that addressed the short-run publishing needs of instructors in very large undergraduate classes. For more than 20 years, Robbins has been operating The Electronic Scholarly Publishing Project, a web site dedicated to the digital publishing of critical works in science, especially classical genetics.

Speaker

Robbins is well-known for his speaking abilities and is often called upon to provide keynote or plenary addresses at international meetings. For example, in July, 2012, he gave a well-received keynote address at the Global Biodiversity Informatics Congress, sponsored by GBIF and held in Copenhagen. The slides from that talk can be seen HERE.

Facilitator

Robbins is a skilled meeting facilitator. He prefers a participatory approach, with part of the meeting involving dynamic breakout groups, created by the participants in real time: (1) individuals propose breakout groups; (2) everyone signs up for one (or more) groups; (3) the groups with the most interested parties then meet, with reports from each group presented and discussed in a subsequent plenary session.

Designer

Robbins has been engaged with photography and design since the 1960s, when he worked for a professional photography laboratory. He now prefers digital photography and tools for their precision and reproducibility. He designed his first web site more than 20 years ago and he personally designed and implemented this web site. He engages in graphic design as a hobby.

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A practical handbook on fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for physicians, nurses, physician assistants, students, residents, and fellows, The 6 Ds of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: A Primer from Decision to Discharge and Beyond provides a clinical framework to understand and administer this treatment. FMT has emerged as a promising treatment for C. difficile infection (CDI), and there is a major need for educational resources on the topic. Drs. Jessica Allegretti, Zain Kassam, and their expert contributors are leaders in the field and have collectively cared for thousands of patients suffering from recurrent CDI who have benefitted from FMT. This guide provides practical tools, clinical pearls, and answers to frequently asked questions. Beginning with introductory information on the microbiome and exploring the history of FMT, The 6 Ds of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation outlines a step-by-step checklist for administering FMT: Decision: Who is the right CDI patient to receive FMT? What clinical questions should you ask patients in your FMT clinical assessment?; Donor: How do you select and screen a donor for FMT?; Discussion: What are the risks, benefits, and alternatives that need to be discussed with patients?; Delivery: What is the best delivery method for FMT-colonoscopy, nasogastric tube, enema, or capsules?; Discharge and follow-up: What is the ideal post-FMT care? How should you council patients following FMT?; and Discovery: What are the most promising emerging clinical applications for FMT? What is the evidence for FMT in obesity, autism, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and liver disease? Arming healthcare professionals with the ability to answer questions from patients regarding FMT and the microbiome, The 6 Ds of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation provides a pragmatic guide for this exciting treatment.

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Collection of publications by R J Robbins

Reprints and preprints of publications, slide presentations, instructional materials, and data compilations written or prepared by Robert Robbins. Most papers deal with computational biology, genome informatics, using information technology to support biomedical research, and related matters.

Research Gate page for R J Robbins

ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a study by Nature and an article in Times Higher Education , it is the largest academic social network in terms of active users.

Curriculum Vitae for R J Robbins

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Curriculum Vitae for R J Robbins

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