The 2025 CHINAGUT Conference has assembled a panel of 63 experts (30 scientists, 26 physicians, and 7 corporate R&D personnel) collaborated in three groups to present 30 scientific recommendations to advance probiotics, live biotherapeutic products, and fecal microbiota transplantation, addressing key issues on standardization, translation, supervision, regulation, and regulatory harmonization. These interdisciplinary guidelines aim to synthesize cutting-edge knowledge and practical needs to transform microbiota-based treatments from applications into precision-driven medical solutions, and serve as reference by scientific researchers, medical educators, pharmaceutical enterprises, clinicians, food and drug administrations, policymakers, and patients.

Social media platforms have revolutionized scientific communication by bridging gaps between researchers, academic journals, and global audiences. This article showcases iMeta, an open-access journal that leverages a diversified social media framework to enhance bilingual dissemination, boost full-text downloads, and amplify international influence. Since its editorial board founded, iMeta has achieved a series of milestones: integrating platforms like WeChat, Bilibili, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and BlueSky; launching iMeta-branded journals iMetaOmics and iMetaMed; and being indexed in prominent databases including PubMed, SCIE, and ESI. As of August 2025, the journal has recorded 1,334,761 full-text downloads and 10,560 total citations, with a 2024 impact factor of 33.2. A significant positive correlation between downloads and citations highlights how strategic social media integration and iMeta's growth drive visibility and influence, positioning it as a leading journal in its field.

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies marks a transformative moment for the scientific sphere, unlocking novel avenues to elevate scientific writing's efficiency and quality, expedite insight discovery, and enhance code development processes. Essential to leveraging these advancements is prompt engineering, a method that enhances AI interaction efficiency and quality. Despite its benefits, effective application requires blending researchers' expertise with AI, avoiding overreliance. A balanced strategy of integrating AI with independent critical thinking ensures the advancement and quality of scientific research, leveraging innovation while maintaining research integrity.

The Microbiome Protocols eBook (MPB) serves as a crucial bridge, filling gaps in microbiome protocols for both wet experiments and data analysis. The first edition, launched in 2020, featured 152 meticulously curated protocols, garnering widespread acclaim. We now extend a sincere invitation to researchers to participate in the upcoming 2nd version of MPB, contributing their valuable protocols to advance microbiome research.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many fatalities worldwide and continues to affect the health of the recovered patients in the form of long-COVID. In this study, we compared the gut microbiome of uninfected infants and children before the pandemic began (BEFORE cohort, n=906) to that of after the pandemic (AFTER cohort, n=220) to examine the potential impact of social distancing and life habit changes on infant/children gut microbiome. Based on 16S rRNA sequencing, we found a significant change in microbiome composition after the pandemic, with Bacteroides enterotype increasing to 35.45% from 30.46% before the pandemic. qPCR quantification indicated that the bacterial loads of seven keystone taxa decreased by 91.69%-19.58%. Quantitative microbiome profiling, used to enhance the resolution in detecting microbiome differences, revealed a greater explained variance of pandemic on microbiome compared to gender, as well as a significant decrease in bacterial loads in 15 of the 20 major genera. The random forest age-predictor indicated the gut microbiomes were less mature in the after-pandemic cohort than in the before-pandemic cohort in the children group (3-12 years old) and had features of a significantly younger age (average of 1.86 years). Lastly, body weight and height were significantly lower in the after-pandemic cohort than in the before-pandemic cohort in infants (<1 year of age), which was associated with a decrease in bacterial loads in the fecal microbiome.

The iMeta Conference 2024 provides a platform to promote the development of an innovative scientific research ecosystem for microbiome and One Health. The four key components - Technology, Research (Biology), Academic journals, and Social media - form a synergistic ecosystem. Advanced technologies drive biological research, which generates novel insights that are disseminated through academic journals. Social media plays a crucial role in engaging the public and facilitating scientific communication, thus amplifying the impact of research. Together, these elements create a self-sustaining loop that fosters continuous innovation and collaboration in the field of bioinformatics, biotechnology and microbiome research.

iMetaOmics is a quarterly international journal with the priority of publishing research work within the scope of One Health, featured with well-designed omics. The journal also welcomes the work with systematic integration of extensive public datasets, new and meaningful perspectives, and the re-analysis of high-impact data yielding different/valuable conclusions.

ObjectiveIntermittent energy restriction (IER) is an effective weight loss strategy. However, little is known about the dynamic effects of IER on the brain-gut-microbiome axis.MethodsIn this study, a total of 25 obese individuals successfully lost weight after a 2-month IER intervention. FMRI was used to determine the activity of brain regions. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to identify differentially abundant gut microbes and pathways in from fecal samples.ResultsOur results showed that IER longitudinally reduced the activity of obese-related brain regions at different timepoints, including the inferior frontal orbital gyrus in the cognitive control circuit, the putamen in the emotion and learning circuit, and the anterior cingulate cortex in the sensory circuit. IER longitudinally reduced E. coli abundance across multiple timepoints while elevating the abundance of obesity-related Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Bacterokles uniformis. Correlation analysis revealed longitudinally correlations between gut bacteria abundance alterations and brain activity changes.ConclusionsThere was dynamical alteration of BGM axis (the communication of E. coli with specific brain regions) during the weight loss under the IER.

Objective: Functional constipation is a gastrointestinal disorder that affects millions of people and is correlated with gut microbiome dysbiosis. The currently available treatments are ineffective; therefore, novel treatment schemes targeting the gut microbiome are desired. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of yogurt supplemented with seven probiotic strains and six types of dietary fibers on functional constipation.Methods: In the mouse study, mice with induced constipation were administered the yogurt once a day for 1 wk, with fecal parameters and intestinal transit rate measured. In the clinical study, participants with constipation (N = 86) were given the yogurt once daily (200 g) for 4 wk. Fecal and blood samples along with Patient Assessment of Constipation-symptoms and Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life Scale questionnaires were collected to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the yogurt. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed to analyze fecal samples of both mice and humans.Results: We found that constipated mice had different gut microbiomes compared with those in healthy controls; yogurt treatment significantly relieved constipation-related symptoms and resulted in shifts in the microbiome. Yogurt also relieved symptoms of antibiotic-induced constipation in mice and restored the gut microbiome to a certain extent. In the clinical trial with 86 patients, yogurt administration significantly improved constipation symptoms and showed no serious adverse effects (was generally considered safe). However, subsequent metagenomic profiling of the gut microbiome did not reveal significant changes in the microbial composition, in contrast to the results in mice. We hypothesize that the differences in dosage between mice and humans may attribute to such discrepancies, and microbiome changes may not be necessary for improvements of constipation symptoms in humans.

2021年8月～9月,通过三家开展肠菌移植的单位进行了电子问卷调查,旨在从捐献者的角度,探究我国文化语境下他们对于捐献肠菌的特殊感受和对相关伦理问题的认知态度.结果显示,多数捐献者(80.0%)出于利他的目的进行捐献;超半数捐献者(53.0%)认识到捐献肠菌的风险;61.0%的捐献者同意自己的样本用于未来开放的研究,且后续研究都无需再次同意;与纯粹的捐献相比,具有经济目的的捐献者更加重视肠菌的所有权(χ2=5.73,P＜0.05)和利益分享(χ2=10.13,P＜0.05).捐献肠菌会引发污名化、隐私权等道德风险,需要提高研究人员的伦理意识,提升民众对生物科学研究的知情权与参与能力,保护公众和个体的利益不被侵犯.

肠道菌群是人体肠道的正常微生物,如双歧杆菌、乳酸杆菌等能合成多种人体生长发育必需的维生素.这些营养物质对人类的健康有着重要作用,一旦缺乏会引起多种疾病.人体肠道内寄生着 10 万亿个细菌,它们能影响体重和消化能力、抵御感染和自体免疫疾病的患病风险,还能控制人体对癌症治疗药物的反应.文章检索了 Web of Science 数据库和万方数据库的相关文献,通过文献计量学的方法分析阐述了中国近 20 年肠道菌群的研究历程和进展.

Calorie restriction (CR) has been widely recognized for its effect in reducing body weight and alleviating diabetes in humans, as well as prolonging life span in animal studies. Gut microbiome shifts contribute to part of the effects of CR, but little is known regarding their influences except on metabolism and immunity. Here we monitored gut microbiome using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics in obese individuals undergoing CR, and revealed microbial determinants that could contribute to successful weight loss. Microbiome changes are linked to changes in blood metabolome and hormones, which eventually correlate to brain functional changes as studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Brain functional shifts indicate response of central neural system (CNS) to CR, and microbiome constitutes the keystone of gut-brain axis. Animal experiment further reaffirms the gut microbiome changes, metabolic and hormonal shifts of CR, while proteomic analysis of brain tissues suggest that epigenetic modifications of key proteins could explain responses of CNS to CR. Our study establishes linkage between CR, gut microbiome, metabolome/ hormones and CNS function, and demonstrates that CR has multi-facet, coordinated effects on the host, of which many could contribute to weight loss and other beneficial effects.

Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented explosion of scientific knowledge and advances in human microbiome research due to the emerging high-throughput molecular technologies.The term human microbiome refers to the population of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoan, and their genetic material that live on and inside the human organisms (skin, mucous membranes, intestinal tract, etc.) (Honey, 2008).A search of the literature at PubMed for the term "microbiome" in the title and abstract illustrates the fast progression of microbiome science.From 2006 to 2010 there were just 304 papers that used the word microbiome in their title and/or abstract, whereas the number has increased to 11,128 from 2011 to 2017.Research on human microbiome, or our second genome, will inevitably bring about dramatic changes in our understanding of ourselves, normalcy, health and illness, and paradigm shift in the management of clinical practice and public health interventions, as well as the production and distribution of commercial products promising health benefits and disease prevention (e.g., individualized diet, probiotics, prebiotics and microbial-based interventions).For example, our commonly used diagnostic criteria for vaginal microbiota wherein the degree of "healthiness" is in part assessed by scoring the abundance of Lactobacillus morphotypes, but one study found a quarter of healthy women do not carry Lactobacillus in their vagina.This research calls for a better understanding of "normal" and "healthy" vaginal ecosystem that is based on its function, rather than simply on its composition (Ma et al., 2012).Another notable example is the increasing application of the new therapeutic modality of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), which runs the risk of being perceived as a panacea for a multitude of illnesses and also the risk of abuse, as increasing

The surface expression of HIV-1 coreceptors （CXCR4 and CCR5） on monocytes can be regulated by the ligand of CD14,and the susceptibility of the cells to HIV-1 is then changed.Our previous study found that monoclonal antibody against CD14 could dramatically inhibit CXCR4-mediated chemotaxis and cell-cell fusion.Based on these studies,we explored potential relationship between CD14 and CXCR4 on monocytic cell line U937.Flow cytometry analysis showed that anti-CXCR4 monoclonal antibody （mAb） 12G5 strongly inhibited binding of the FITC-conjugated anti-CD14 monoclonal antibodies （TUK4 and UCHM1） to U937,while another CX- CR4-specific mAb B-R24 did not show any effect on this binding.On the other hand,two anti-CD14 monoclonal antibodies （TUK4 and UCH-M1） obviously inhibited the binding of the PE-conjugated anti-CXCR4 mAb 12G5 to U937 but did not inhibit the binding of mAb 12G5 to CXCR4-transfected 3T3 cells （3T3.T4.CXCR4）,which indicates that the blocking of mAb 12G5 binding to CXCR4 by CD14- specific mAbs is not involved in the possibility that CD14-specific mAbs directly bind to CXCR4.These results suggested existence of a close association between CD14 and CXCR4 on monocytic cell line U937.

A seven-amino acid epitope GPGRAFY at the tip of the V3 loop in HIV-1 gp120 is the principal neutralizing epitope,and a subset of anti-V3 antibodies specific for this epitope shows a broad range of neutralizing activity.GPGRAFY-epitope-specific neutralizing antibodies were produced using predefined GPGRAFY-epitope-specific peptides instead of a natural or recombinant gp120 bearing this epitope.All six monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) could recognize the GPGRAFY-epitope on peptides and two of the antibodies,9D8 and 2D7,could recognize recombinant gp120 in enzymelinked immunosorkentassy (ELISA) assays.In the flow cytometry analysis,the mAbs 9D8 and 2D7 could bind to HIV-Env+ CHO-WT cells and the specific bindings could be inhibited by the GPGRAFY-epitope peptide,which suggests that these two mAbs could recognize the native envelope protein gp120 expressed on the cell membrane.However,in syncytium assays,none of the mAbs was capable of inhibiting HIV-Env-mediated cell membrane fusion.The different activities for recognizing native HIV-1 gp120 might be associated with different antibody affinities against the epitopes.The development of conformational mimics of the neutralization epitope in the gp120 V3 loop could elicit neutralizing mAbs with high affinity.

研究表明HIV-1包膜蛋白gp120上的V3环在病毒结合到靶细胞的过程中起着重要的作用.这个区域中的几个氨基酸残基与gp120同辅受体的结合相关联.在HIV-1感染过程的早期,V3环在患者体内诱导针对HIV病毒的抗体应答,并被确定为主要中和决定簇.一些针对V3环的抗体具有广泛的中和活性.但是,V3环是HIV包膜蛋白的一个高变区,发生着广泛的变异.综述了V3环的结构特征和变异以及生物学功能,并对V3环的免疫反应进行了探讨.

The expression of HIV-1 coreceptors (CXCR4 and CCR5) on monocyte surface can be regulated by the ligand of CD14 (LPS), which stimulate the susceptibility of the cells to HIV-1. To investigate whether it exists potential association between CD14 and HIV-1 coreceptor CXCR4, we tested the impact of CD14-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) upon CXCR4-dependent responses, such as SDF-induced chemotaxis and HIV Env-mediated membrane fusion. The anti-CD14 mAb TUK4 like CXCR4-specific mAb 12G5 could block SDF-induced chemotaxis of U937 cells in a dose-dependent manner, while another CD14-specific mAb UCHM-1 did not show any activity. More interestingly, syncytium assay indicated that only the CD14-specific mAb TUK4 inhibited HIV Env-mediated CXCR4-dependent cell fusion between U937 cells and HIV-1HXB2 Env transfected CHO cells distinctly, consistent with its activity against CXCR4-dependent chemotaxis. These results provided experimental evidence for existence of close association between CD14 and HIV coreceptor CXCR4 on human monocytic cells.

Recent studies demonstrate that the V3 loop of HIV-1 gp120 plays an important role in the attachment of HIV-1 to the target cells. Several amino acids in this domain are involved in the interaction of gp120 with the co-receptors. The V3 loop elicits one of the earliest antiviral antibody responses in HIV-1 infection and has been identified as the principal neutralizing determinant (PND). A subset of antibodies to V3 loop show a broad range of neutralizing activity. Unfortunately, this loop undergoes broad mutation and is one of the hypervariable regions. Mutations of some amino acids in this PND could affect syncytium, formation, virus infectivity and neutralization. Knowing the structural characteristics and biological functions of the V3 region could help us to understand mechanism of HIV infection and to develop new strategy against HIV-1. In this review, the structural characteristics, variation and biological functions of the V3 loop as well as immunological responses to the V3 loop are discussed.