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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) represents a significant global health burden, necessitating innovative therapeutic approaches. Recent research has increasingly recognized the role of gut microbiota modulation in T2DM management, offering promising avenues for intervention. This systematic review synthesizes current literature investigating the impact of modulating gut microbiota on T2DM management. A comprehensive search of databases yielded studies examining various strategies, including probiotics, prebiotics, dietary interventions, and facal microbiota transplantation. Analysis of these interventions revealed their potential to improve glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation markers in individuals with T2DM. Mechanistic insights elucidate how gut microbiota modulation influences metabolic pathways, immune function, and gut barrier integrity, thereby contributing to T2DM pathophysiology. Furthermore, studies highlight the interplay between gut microbiota composition and host factors such as diet, lifestyle, and genetics, underscoring the complexity of this relationship. Modulating gut microbiota presents a promising therapeutic approach in T2DM management, with potential benefits in glycemic control and metabolic health. However, further research is warranted to optimize intervention strategies, elucidate mechanistic pathways, and explore long-term effects. The aim of this review was to underscores the importance of considering gut microbiota modulation as a complementary approach in the multifaceted management of T2DM.
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Abstract In the human gut, there is a metabolically active microbiome whose metabolic products reach various organs and are used in the physiological activities of the body. When dysbiosis of intestinal microbial homeostasis occurs, pathogenic metabolites may increase and one of them is trimethyl amine-N-oxide (TMAO). TMAO is thought to have a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerotic heart diseases, and cerebrovascular events. TMAO level is also associated with renal inflammation, fibrosis, acute kidney injury, diabetic kidney disease, and chronic kidney disease. In this review, the effect of TMAO on various kidney diseases is discussed.
Resumo No intestino humano, existe um microbioma metabolicamente ativo cujos produtos metabólicos alcançam diversos órgãos e são utilizados nas atividades fisiológicas do corpo. Quando ocorre disbiose da homeostase microbiana intestinal, os metabólitos patogênicos podem aumentar, e um deles é o N-óxido de trimetilamina (TMAO). Acredita-se que o TMAO tenha um papel na patogênese da resistência à insulina, diabetes, hiperlipidemia, doenças cardíacas ateroscleróticas e eventos cerebrovasculares. O nível de TMAO também está associado à inflamação renal, fibrose, lesão renal aguda, doença renal diabética e doença renal crônica. Nesta revisão, discute-se o efeito do TMAO em diversas doenças renais.
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Particulate matter (PM) is the main air pollutant in China. Due to its wide distribution and difficulties in control, PM has been widely concerned. PM mainly enters human body through respiratory exposure and can cause a variety of health problems. Recent studies have shown that PM exposure is also associated with the occurrence and development of digestive system diseases, as it can enter human body indirectly through the respiratory tract or directly through the digestive tract. Gut microbiota (GM) is a group of microorganisms located in the intestinal epithelium mucosa and intestinal lumen. GM is large in number and rich in functions, and its homeostasis plays an important role in the intestinal health of individuals and even the health of the body. Because GM may mediate the health effects induced by environmental factors, more and more studies have focused on the effects of ambient PM on GM. In this review, we summarized the effects of a variety of ambient PM on GM homeostasis, focusing on five major phyla including Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia, and discussed their main functions and the effects of PM on their homeostasis and abundance.
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@#Abstract: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic intestinal disease caused by a variety of factors. Severe intestinal inflammation can also cause liver injury. Based on the previous research, microbial dysbiosis in the inflammatory state leads to the conversion of excess choline into trimethylamine (TMA) by the intestinal flora, which competes with the host for the use of the nutrient choline, and induces liver injury. 3, 3-dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB), a structural analogue of choline, can reduce TMA levels from choline conversion. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect and possible mechanism of DMB on UC and secondary liver injury. Dextran sulfate sodium-induced acute colitis model in mice was established. The weight of mice, and collected serum, liver and intestinal contents after mice sacrifice were measured. The morphological changes of colon and liver were observed; liver function was detected with the kit of biochemical indexes; UHPLC-MS/MS was applied to detect changes in choline metabolism in vivo. The experimental results showed that DMB could attenuate body weight loss index, improve colonic inflammation, and reduce liver injury in UC mice. The detection of choline-related metabolites in serum, intestinal contents and liver showed that DMB could effectively inhibit the production of trimethylamine in the intestine, improve the availability of host choline, effectively alleviate colitis deterioration, and reduce liver damage caused by severe intestinal lesions.
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Objective To explore the causal association between gut microbes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)by Mendelian randomisation analysis.Methods Genetic instrumental variables for gut microbiota were identified from a gene-wide association study of 18 340 participants,and summary statistics for NAFLD were ob-tained from the FinnGen database,which provided data on 894 NAFLD cases and 217 898 controls using the IVW method as the primary analysis.In order to test the robustness of the results,MR-Egger method,WM method,Simple Mode method,Weighted Mode method were used for Mendelian randomisation analysis,and heterogeneity test,sensitivity analysis,and multiplicity analysis were performed.Results class Gammaproteobacteria IVW re-sults showed(OR=0.621,95％CI=0.412～0.934,P=0.022);family Enterobacteriaceae IVW results showed(OR=1.481,95％CI=1.069～2.053,P=0.018);genus Lachnospiraceae IVW results showed(OR=1.405,95％CI=1.036～1.904,P=0.029);genus Prevotella7 IVW results showed(OR=0.834,95％CI=0.714～0.974,P=0.021);genus Prevotella9 IVW results showed(OR=1.251,95％CI=1.025～1.527,P=0.027);order Desulfovibrionales IVW results showed(OR=0.714,95％CI=0.519～0.982,P=0.038);or-der Enterobacteriales IVW results showed(OR=1.481,95％CI=1.069～2.053,P=0.018).And there was no heterogeneity in the heterogeneity test,and the sensitivity analyses all showed robustness and no pleiotropy was found.Conclusion This study implicates class Gammaproteobacteria,family Enterobacteriaceae,genus Lachno-spiraceae,genus Prevotella7,genus Prevotella9,order Desulfovibrionales,order Enterobacteriales seven species of gut microorganisms have a causal relationship with NAFLD.
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The gastrointestinal motility disorder of the patients with Parkinson's disease(PD)occurs in the early stages of this disease,even before the onset of motor symptoms.The gastrointestinal motility disorder is one type of gastrointestinal dysfunction,not only affect the absorption of medication,exacerbating the progression of PD,but also severely impact the quality of life of the patients.Therefore,it is essential to find new therapeutic targets to alleviate PD-induced gastrointestinal dysmotility in order to improve the progression of the disease and the quality of life of the patients.The gastrointestinal motility function is highly dependent on the health of the gut and central nervous regulating the gastrointestinal movements.A healthy gut is closely related to the integrity of the intestinal barrier,gut microbiota,neuroinflammation,and the normal function of enteric neurons responsible for the contraction and relaxation of the gastrointestinal tract.The gut function of the PD patients is compromised to some extent.This review summarizes the effects of the enteric nervous system,central nervous system,and gut microbiota on the development of gastrointestinal motility disorder of the PD patients;it also outlines the current therapeutic methods available and their limitations,with the aim of providing the new insights into the treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorder of the PD patients.
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In recent years，the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased rapidly，and obesity can seriously affect physical and mental health of children and adolescents，and is likely to extend into adulthood. The onset and development of childhood obesity is related to multiple factors such as genetic predisposition and environment. So far，more and more studies have found that the gut microbiota，as an important part of the internal environment，is closely related to childhood obesity. Perturbed gut microbiota and its derived metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids，bile acids，indole and their derivatives are widely involved in the onset and development of childhood obesity. At present，regulating the compositions and function of gut microbiota through probiotics and prebiotics，fecal microbiota transplantation，dietary intervention，and bariatric surgery is a new direction for the prevention and treatment of obesity. This paper reviews the research progress on the association between gut microbiota and childhood obesity，in order to provide novel insights for prevention and intervention of childhood obesity based on gut microbiota.
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Stroke is the main cause of disability in adults.With the progress of stroke diagnosis and treatment technology,the mortality rate of stroke patients has decreased significantly,but its incidence keeps increasing,and there is an increasing number of stroke survivors develop chronic neurological disorders.At present,there is no clear drug to promote functional repair after stroke.Several studies have shown that gut microbiota can improve stroke prognosis by regulating neuroactive molecules and immune cell functions,enhancing neural network plasticity,and reducing neuroinflammation.Based on a review of previous studies,this paper describes the mechanism of action of gut microbiota on neural network plasticity and neuroinflammation after stroke and its impact on functional recovery after stroke and explores its clinical value and feasibility in improving neurological dysfunction after stroke.
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Objective·To analyze the diversity and composition of the maternal gut microbiota and vaginal microbiota in late pregnancy,neonatal meconium microbiota and vernix caseosa microbiota,and analyze the similarities,differences and correlations.Methods·This is a prospective study.Maternal stool samples and vaginal swabs in late-pregnancy,and neonatal meconium samples were collected from 11 mother-infant pairs at Xinhua Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from August to November 2018;the vernix caseosa from three sites(forehead,axilla,and inguinal crease)and meconium samples were collected from 14 healthy newborns at International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in December 2018.All births were vaginal deliveries.The 16S rRNA gene V3?V4 region sequencing was used.The diversity,composition and similarities/differences of the maternal gut microbiota,the vaginal microbiota,and the neonatal meconium microbiota from the 11 mother-infant pairs,as well as the neonatal vernix caseosa microbiota and the meconium microbiota from the 14 newborns were analyzed.Results·The number of operational taxonomic units(OTUs),ACE index,Chao1 index,and Shannon index of maternal gut microbiota were all higher than those of vaginal microbiota;the ACE indices and the Chao1 indices of the vernix caseosa microbiota at three sites were all higher than those of meconium microbiota(P<0.01).The β diversity varied among the maternal gut microbiota,vaginal microbiota,and neonatal meconium microbiota(P<0.01).The β diversity of neonatal vernix caseosa microbiota from three sites(forehead,axilla,and inguinal crease)was similar,but different from meconium microbiota(P<0.01).At the phylum level,the dominant bacteria were Firmicutes(52.76%)and Bacteroidetes(41.67%)in the maternal gut microbiota,Firmicutes(74.36%)and Actinobacteria(21.25%)in the maternal vaginal microbiota,and Firmicutes(84.22%)and Proteobacteria(8.80%)in the neonatal vernix caseosa microbiota.The dominant bacterium in the neonatal meconium was Proteobacteria in the two batches of samples(81.11%and 88.72%,respectively).At the genus level,the dominant bacteria were Bacteroides(35.42%)and Faecalibacterium(10.12%)in the maternal gut microbiota,Lactobacillus(69.10%)and Bifidobacterium(11.30%)in the vaginal microbiota,and Lactobacillus(79.81%)and Pseudomonas(3.23%)in the vernix caseosa microbiota.The dominant bacterium in the neonatal meconium was Escherichia in the two batches of samples(55.21%and 31.18%,respectively).Conclusion·The α diversity of maternal gut microbiota is higher than that of vaginal microbiota and neonatal meconium microbiota,and it is higher in neonatal vernix caseosa than that in meconium microbiota.The Firmicutes is the predominant phylum in the maternal late-pregnancy gut microbiota,vaginal microbiota,and neonatal vernix microbiota.Lactobacillus is the predominant genus in both maternal vaginal and neonatal vernix caseosa microbiota.Proteobacteria in phylum and Escherichia in genus are predominant in meconium microbiota.The microbiota composition is similar in vernix caseosa at different body sites,but there are differences between the vernix caseosa microbiota and meconium microbiota.
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Gut microbiota participates in numerous physiological and metabolic processes in the human body,directly affecting human health.The imbalance of gut microbiota may lead to many diseases.This article reviews the types of gut microbiota,the impact of gut microbiota on different populations,and the relationship between gut microbiota abnormalities and diseases,in order to better explain the important role of gut microbiota in human health and diseases,and provide the theoretical basis for further understanding the relationship between gut microbiota and human health.
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BACKGROUND:Osteonecrosis due to drugs is a serious adverse reaction occurring after the application of such drugs.Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota composition is associated with osteonecrosis due to drugs.However,the causal relationship of the gut microbiota to osteonecrosis due to drugs is still unclear. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the potential causal relationship between the gut microbiota and the risk of osteonecrosis due to drugs using the Mendelian randomization method. METHODS:A two-sample Mendelian randomization study was performed using the summary statistics of gut microbiota from the largest available genome-wide association study meta-analysis(n=13 266)conducted by the MiBioGen consortium as well as the summary statistics of osteonecrosis due to drugs obtained from the FinnGen consortium R9 release data(264 cases and 377 013 controls).Inverse variance weighted,MR-Egger,weighted median,weighted model and simple model were used to examine the causal association between gut microbiota and osteonecrosis due to drugs.Sensitivity analysis was used to test whether the results of the Mendelian randomization analysis were reliable.Reverse Mendelian randomization analysis was performed on all the bacteria as an outcome for effect analysis and sensitivity analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Inverse variance weighted estimates suggested that Lentisphaerae(phylum),Lentisphaeria(class),Melainabacteria(class),Gastranaerophilales(order),Rhodospirillales(order),Victivallales(order)and Bifidobacterium(genus)had protective causal effects on osteonecrosis due to drugs.Methanobacteria(class),Bacillales(order),Methanobacteriaceae(family),Lachnospiraceae(family),Methanobacteriales(order),Holdemania(genus),Holdemania(UCG010 group)(genus),Odoribacter(genus)and Tyzzerella3(genus)had negative causal effects on osteonecrosis due to drugs.According to the results of reverse Mendelian randomization analysis,Clostridiaceae1(family),Peptostreptococcaceae(family),Streptococcaceae(family),Clostridiumsensustricto1(genus)and Streptococcus(genus)showed negative causal effects on osteonecrosis due to drugs.However,Eisenbergiella(genus)showed protective causal effects on osteonecrosis due to drugs.None of the bidirectional sensitivity analysis revealed heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy.When gut microbiota were used as exposure and osteonecrosis due to drugs as the outcome,Mendelian randomization analysis found that seven bacterial traits were positively correlated to osteonecrosis due to drugs,nine bacterial traits were negatively related to osteonecrosis due to drugs.When osteonecrosis due to drugs were used as exposure and gut microbiota as the outcome,reverse Mendelian randomization analysis found a negative correlated relationship with five bacterial traits and a positive causal relationship with one bacterial trait.By changing the diversity and composition of gut microbiota,it is expected to improve the incidence and prognosis of osteonecrosis due to drugs,providing new ideas for the study of orthopedic diseases.
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Radiotherapy can cause functional and morphological changes in the brain tissues of patients with primary or metastatic malignant brain tumors, leading to radiation-induced brain injury. However, the pathogenesis of radiation-induced brain injury has not yet been unanimously determined, and its research advances and treatment protocols are yet to be elucidated and improved. In this study, we explore the pathogenesis of radiation-induced brain injury from the perspective of vascular injury, inflammatory reactions, neuronal dysfunction, glial cell injury, and gut microbiota and reviewed the advances in research on its treatment and prevention. The purpose is to provide a reference and theoretical basis for the research and clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation-induced brain injury.
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The intestinal dysbacteriosis is closely associated with the occurrence and progress of radiation-induced intestinal injury. However, the specific mechanism remains unclear. Symbiotic bacteria in the human body play a significant role in maintaining the homeostasis of the intestinal microenvironment while participating in various physiological and pathological processes such as metabolism, immunoregulation, inflammation, and tumorigenesis. Ionizing radiation can destroy the intestinal epithelial barrier, creating an oxidative stress microenvironment. Consequently, the composition and structure of microbiota change, leading to dysbacteriosis through downstream inflammatory factors. Dysbacteriosis can further exacerbate radiation-induced intestinal injury by weakening the resistance of the intestinal epithelial barrier, activating inflammatory signaling pathways, and upregulating radiation-induced apoptosis response. The probiotic supplementation and fecal bacteria transplantation can reduce radiation-induced intestinal injury by regulating the balance of intestinal microbiota. This study reviews the advances in research on the pathogenesis and clinical protection of radiation enteritis based on gut microbiota, in order to provide a theoretical basis and reference for the prevention and treatment of radiation enteritis.
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Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease that commonly affects adolescents, characterized by progressive destruction of pancreatic β-cells, absolute insulin deficiency, and hyperglycemia. The pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus is complex and is believed to be mainly associated with immunity, environment, and genetics. There is increasing evidence that gut microbiota is closely related to the occurrence of type 1 diabetes mellitus. This article focuses on the immune mechanisms and roles of gut microbiota and its derivatives in the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus from the perspectives of innate and adaptive immunity. Additionally, it introduces therapeutic approaches targeting gut microbiota for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus.
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Based on the results of the latest basic research on vitiligo, this article elucidates the significance of reconfiguration of glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and metabolism of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of vitiligo, attempts to delineate a panoramic picture of metabolic reconfiguration in vitiligo, and discusses the importance of dialectically and uniformly grasping the crosstalk between multiple metabolic pathways, and of thinking about the mechanisms of action of multiple metabolic pathway reconfiguration in the occurrence of vitiligo in individuals from a holistic perspective in future basic studies, in order to promote the understanding of the vitiligo pathogenesis and explore potential treatment methods for vitiligo.
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ObjectiveTo explore the protective effect of polysaccharide from Inonotus obliquus （IOP） on lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced acute lung injury （ALI） in mice. MethodA total of 40 male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group， model group， dexamethasone group， and high-dose and low-dose IOP groups， with eight mice in each group. The high-dose and low-dose IOP groups were administered intragastrically with IOP at 20 and 10 mg·kg-1， respectively. The normal group and the model group were intragastrically administered with normal saline in equal volumes， and the dexamethasone group was intraperitoneally injected with dexamethasone phosphate injection of 30 mg·kg-1 for 21 days. An ALI mouse model induced by LPS was constructed， and hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， immunofluorescence staining， and blood routine were used to detect pathological damage of lung tissue and blood cell content. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） were used to detect the expression levels of various inflammatory factors. Changes in gut microbiota and plasma differential metabolites in mice were detected using 16S rRNA sequencing and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF-MS）. ResultCompared with the model group， the lung tissue lesions of ALI mice were significantly improved after IOP administration， and the spleen and thymus index were dramatically increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The ratio of wet-to-dry weight of lung tissue was sensibly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the number of lymphocytes was substantially increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The number of neutrophils was markedly decreased （P<0.01）. The expression level of interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， nuclear factor-κB（NF-κB）， and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 （NLRP3） decreased prominently （P<0.05， P<0.01） and the expression level of interleukin-10 （IL-10） increased memorably （P<0.01）. The 16S rRNA sequencing results show that IOP can regulate and improve intestinal microbial disorders. The UPLC-Q-TOF-MS results indicate that the treatment of ALI mice with IOP may involve pathways related to mitochondrial， sugar， and amino acid metabolism， such as nucleotide sugar metabolism， histidine metabolism， ubiquinone， and other terpenoid compound-quinone biosynthesis， as well as starch and sucrose metabolism. ConclusionThe improvement of lung tissue lesions and inflammatory response by IOP in ALI mice may be related to maintaining intestinal microbiota balance， regulating mitochondrial electron oxidation respiratory chain， as well as sugar and amino acid metabolism pathways， and affecting the production of related microbial metabolites and tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolites.
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Gut microbiome plays an important role in maintaining lifelong health. Infancy is a critical period for the establishment of gut microbiota, which is influenced by many factors, including delivery methods, antibiotics, and feeding mode. Human milk contains a variety of bioactive factors, such as human milk oligosaccharide, secretory immunoglobulin, and human milk microbiota, which play important roles in the establishment and stability of newborn microbiota. This article presents the latest research progress on the effects of the aforementioned bioactive factors in breast milk on the colonization and development of infant microbiota, and explains how these substances affect immune function through intestinal bacteria.
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【Objective】 To explore the impact of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the gut microbiota of infants up to 6 months of age and their longitudinal changes, in order to provide theoretical basis for the rational use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance control. 【Methods】 Fecal samples were collected within 3 days, 2 months, and 6 months from a maternal and birth cohort conducted between January 2018 and June 2019. A panel of 6 common ARGs (aac(6′)-Ib, qnrS, blaTEM, ermB, mecA, tetM) were tested, the absolute abundance and positive detection rate by qPCR were calculated. Nonparametric and linear mixed model (LMM) analysis were used to assess the influence of IAP on the absolute abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and the longitudinal changes in their abundance at the three time points. 【Results】 A total of 157 samples from 65 singleton infants were analyzed, including 15 mothers (23.1%) who received IAP. The detection rate of ARGs was high in infants up to six months of age, and the abundance of ARGs tended to increase over time. IAP significantly increased the abundance of the mecA gene in the gut microbiota of vaginally delivered infants at 6 months of age (6.1±1.1 in the VDIAP group vs. 3.8±4.6 in the VDno-IAP group, P=0.046). Additionally, in cesarean section infants, there was a significant increase in the abundance of aac(6′)-Ib genes at 2 months (β=3.81, ,P<0.05), P<0.05] and 6 months of age (β=4.89, ,P<0.001), P<0.001) compared to 3 days of age. 【Conclusions】 The findings suggest that IAP can increase the abundance of ARGs in 6-month-old infants, and this effect is still significant after stratifying by delivery mode. Therefore, the rational and standardized use of intrapartum antibiotics may help reduce the development of antibiotic resistance.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the structural and functional characteristics of gut microbiota in common traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea （IBS-D）. MethodsIBS-D patients who visited the Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine， and healthy participants from the Physical Examination Centre of the same hospital were recruited from 1st January 2020 to 31st March 2021.The IBS-D patients were classified into syndrome of liver constraint and spleen deficiency， and syndrome of spleen deficiency and dampness exuberance； together with the recruited healthy participants， there were liver-constraint group， dampness-exuberance group， and healthy group. General information， including age， gender and body mass index （BMI）， were collected， and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptom Severity Scale （IBS-SSS） as well as Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life Scale （IBS-QOL） scores were additionally collected from IBS-D patients. Fresh fecal samples were also collected and tested by macro-genome sequencing technology for abundance statistical display， PCoA， Anosim， LEfSe bioinformatic analysis of the annotated gut microbiota structure and function. ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in the general information of the participants in the three groups （P＞0.05）； the difference in the IBS-SSS and IBS-QOL scores between liver-constraint group and dampness-exuberance group were not statistically significant （P＞0.05）. The study included 28 cases each in liver-constraint group， dampness-exuberance group， and healthy group. The number of specific genes to patients in liver-constraint group was 269 135， with 216 156 in dampness-exuberance group and 249 759 in healthy group， accounting of total 1 784 036 in the three groups. There were differences in the relative abundance distribution of the top ten species of gut microbiota among the three groups， with smaller differences at the phylum， class and order levels， and larger differences at the family， genus and species levels. There were differences in the relative abundance of structure and function of the gut microbiota among the three groups. Species PCoA and Anosim analyses at the species level showed significant differences in the composition of the microbiota among the three groups. Further LEfSe analyses showed that patients in liver-constraint group were screened for 14 dominant strains， of which Clostridium sp. CAG 217， Lachnospira pectinoschiza， Anaerotruncus sp. CAG 528， Paeniclostridium sordellii， Eubecterium sp. CAG 76， Bacillus cereus were affected to a greater extent in abundance differences； dampness-exuberance group screened 24 species of dominant bacteria， of which Roseburia inulinivorans， Eubacterium sp. CAG 251， Roseburia hominis， Unclassified Eubacterium rectale， Roseburia intestinalis， and Megamonas funiformis were affected to a greater extent in abundance differences； no dominant functional genes were screened for patients in liver-constraint group， and dampness-exuberance group was screened for flagellum assembly （ko02040）， porphyrin metabolism （ ko00860）， salmonella infection （ko05132）， and benzoic acid degradation （ko00362）. The differentially dominant functional genes in liver-constraint group and dampness-exuberance group may mainly focus on metabolism （including biodegradation and metabolism of exogenous substances， energy metabolism， lipid metabolism， etc.）. ConclusionIBS-D with syndrome of liver constraint and spleen deficiency is characterized by the enrichment of 14 gut microbiota， such as Clostridium sp. CAG 217， while IBS-D with syndrome of spleen deficiency and dampness exuberance is characterized by the enrichment of 24 gut microbiota， such as Roseburia inulinivorans， and 4 functional enrichments， such as flagellum assembly. Clostridium sp. CAG 217 and Roseburia inulinivorans are expected to be biomarkers for IBS-D patients in the two syndromes， respectively.
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【Objective】 To explore the antidepressant effects of acupuncture at Baihui and Zusanli acupoints on mice with chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depressive-like behavior and its association with changes in gut microbiota. 【Methods】 Sixty mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group (Ctrl), control+acupuncture group (Ctrl+AP), CUMS group, and CUMS+acupuncture group (CUMS+AP). The CUMS and CUMS+AP groups underwent 6-week CUMS treatment. During the last three weeks of CUMS, mice in the Ctrl+AP and CUMS+AP groups received 20 minutes of acupuncture at Baihui and Zusanli acupoints daily. Sucrose preference test and tail suspension test were used to assess the depressive-like behavior in mice. After the behavioral tests, fecal samples were collected from the mice, and the gut microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. 【Results】 Acupuncture alone had no effect on sucrose preference or tail suspension test results in mice (P>0.05). CUMS induced depressive-like behavior in mice, as evidenced by decreased sucrose preference (P0.05), but they caused significant changes in gut microbiota composition (P=0.002). CUMS increased the abundance of six bacterial genera, including Patulibacter, and decreased the abundance of 26 bacterial genera, including Faecalibacterium (P<0.05). The CUMS+AP group showed increased abundance of 10 bacterial genera, including Faecalibacterium, and decreased abundance of four bacterial genera, including Patulibacter, compared to the CUMS group (P<0.05). Each group of mice had specific gut microbiota. The CUMS group showed significant enrichment of gene functions related to retinol metabolism, ubiquitin system, N-glycan biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, apoptosis, and thermogenesis compared to the control group (P<0.05), while acupuncture reduced the enrichment of these gene functions in the CUMS+AP mice (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Acupuncture at Baihui and Zusanli acupoints has antidepressant effects and can partially restore the depression-induced dysbiosis of gut microbiota. Acupuncture at Baihui and Zusanli acupoints may exert antidepressant effects by influencing gut microbiota composition and metabolism functions of retinol, ubiquitin, N-glycan, and steroids.