The Gut Microbiome in Early Life and Beyond: Implications for Health and Disease

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology in Human Health and Disease".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 992

Special Issue Editors

1. Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
2. System Microbiology and Antimicrobial Resistance (SMART) Lab, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
3. Microbiota I-Center (MagIC), Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: early-life gut microbiome; metagenomics; virome; host-microbe interactions; bioinformatics
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Guest Editor
1. Microbiota I-Center (MagIC), Hong Kong 999077, China
2. Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: gut microbiome; maternal & child health; metagenomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in human health, influencing physiological, metabolic, and immunological processes over an individual’s lifetime. Emerging evidence has highlighted the critical importance of the gut microbiome during early life, particularly in the context of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) framework. Early-life microbial colonization and maturation are shaped by factors such as birth mode, diet, antibiotic exposure, and environmental influences, which can have long-lasting effects on health outcomes. Dysbiosis during this critical developmental window has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases, including metabolic disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, and immune-mediated diseases later in life.

This Special Issue will explore the intricate relationship between the gut microbiome, early-life development, and long-term health outcomes in animals and humans. We welcome the submission of original research articles, reviews, clinical studies, and case reports that investigate the role of the gut microbiome in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) paradigm, focusing on mechanisms, interventions, and translational applications, as well as opinion or perspective papers that discuss relevant ethical considerations in the field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Early-life gut microbiome establishment: Factors influencing microbial colonization and maturation in infancy and childhood.
  • DOHaD and the gut microbiome: How early-life microbial dysbiosis contributes to the developmental origins of chronic diseases.
  • Microbiome–host interactions: Mechanisms by which the gut microbiome influences immune, metabolic, and neurological development.
  • Interventional strategies: Probiotics, prebiotics, and other microbiome-targeted therapies to mitigate disease risk.
  • Longitudinal studies: Tracking gut microbiome changes from early life to adulthood and their association with health outcomes.
  • Translational research: Bridging the gap between microbiome science and clinical applications to improve health across the human lifespan.

This Special Issue will provide a platform for advancing our understanding of the gut microbiome's role in early-life programming and its implications for lifelong health and disease. By integrating insights from DOHaD and microbiome research, we aim to identify novel strategies for disease prevention and intervention, ultimately promoting healthier futures for individuals and populations.

Dr. Ye Peng
Dr. Shilan Wang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • gut microbiome
  • early-life development
  • DOHaD
  • microbial dysbiosis
  • chronic disease
  • probiotics
  • prebiotics
  • microbiome–host interactions
  • developmental programming
  • translational research

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 3420 KiB  
Article
Association Between Gut Microbiota and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study in a Chinese Population
by Wenjian Lin, Zixin Liang, Junxuan Fang, Yu Liu, Lei Lei, Jiawen Lin, Bin Xia, Zhihua Zheng, Jingqiu Yuan and Chun Tang
Biomedicines 2025, 13(6), 1397; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13061397 - 6 Jun 2025
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Abstract
Background: Population differences in gut microbiota composition and related metabolites may influence their potential causal relationship with chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, this relationship remains poorly understood in the Chinese population. Materials and Methods: We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study using [...] Read more.
Background: Population differences in gut microbiota composition and related metabolites may influence their potential causal relationship with chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, this relationship remains poorly understood in the Chinese population. Materials and Methods: We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study using summary statistics of 500 gut microbial features (9 phyla, 3 classes, 14 orders, 32 families, 95 genera, 248 species, and 99 gut metabolic modules (GMMs)) from the 4D-SZ (from Shenzhen, China) discovery cohort (n = 1539). CKD summary statistics were obtained from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) (489 cases and 75,531 controls). Associations between gut microbiota and CKD were evaluated via inverse variance weighted, MR-Egger, weighted median, and MR-PRESSO. To validate our findings, we replicated the analyses in two independent East Asian CKD GWAS datasets: the Biobank of Japan (BBJ) dataset (2117 cases and 174,345 controls) and the J-Kidney-Biobank (JKB) dataset (382 cases and 3471 controls). We further validated the results via a meta-GWAS of BUN and eGFR in Biobank Japan (BBJ) and the Taiwan Biobank (TWB). Additionally, we analyzed 304 serum proteins from the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study (GNHS) and conducted mediation MR analyses to explore potential mediators. Result: At the locus-wide significance threshold, we identified 18 gut microbiome features associated with CKD onset in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB). Genus Alistipes (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00–1.03, p = 0.03) was associated with incident CKD risk in the JKB cohort. Species Bifidobacterium catenulatumBifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum complex (OR 1.0074, 95% CI 1.0070–1.0142, p = 0.01) was associated with incident CKD risk in a meta-GWAS of BUN. Sensitivity analyses, including Cochran’s Q test, MR-Egger intercept analysis, leave-one-out analysis, and funnel plots, yielded consistent results. Mediation analysis revealed that 26.7% (95% CI: 0.006–0.6700, p = 0.04) of the effect of Alistipes on CKD risk was mediated through the serum protein FBLN1. Conclusions: Our study provides Mendelian randomization-based evidence supporting a potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and CKD, highlighting the potential mediating role of FBLN1 in the association between genus Alistipes and CKD. Further studies are needed to explore whether and how genus Alistipes and FBLN1 contribute to CKD development. Full article
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