Structural and functional characterization of the gut microbiota in women with early pregnancy loss in Northwest China
- 1The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Lanzhou University , , ,
Abstract
Background: Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is a common adverse pregnancy outcome with a complex and incompletely understood etiology. Moreover, metagenomic studies of the gut microbiota in women with EPL in Northwest China remain limited.
Objective: This study aimed to characterize differences in gut microbial composition and predicted functional potential between women with EPL (EPL group) and normal controls (NCs) using shotgun metagenomic sequencing.
Methods: We collected fecal samples from 216 women in Northwest China (EPL group, n = 72; NCs, n = 144). Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed to analyze gut microbiota composition and assess the functional potential of the microbiota.
Results: Our study revealed significant differences in the composition of the gut microbiota between the EPL group and NCs, as assessed by alpha and beta diversity analyses ( p < 0.001). Bacteroides was significantly more abundant in the EPL group, whereas Coprococcus , Bifidobacterium , and Roseburia were significantly more abundant in NCs. Compared to NCs, the EPL group had higher relative abundances of species such as Bacteroides stercoris , Bacteroides plebeius , and Bacteroides uniformis , but lower relative abundances of Bifidobacterium adolescentis , Megamonas funiformis , and Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans . Partial correlation analysis showed that Bacteroidetes was positively correlated with EPL at the phylum level. At the genus level, Odoribacter , Parabacteroides , and Haemophilus were positively correlated with EPL, whereas Corynebacterium , Lactobacillus , and Roseburia were negatively correlated with EPL. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed that pathways such as L-rhamnose degradation I, L-arginine biosynthesis III and 2-oxobutanoate degradation I exhibited significant positive correlations with EPL. In contrast, pathways including purine nucleobases degradation I (anaerobic) and chitin derivatives degradation showed significant negative correlations with EPL.
Conclusion: The results of our study revealed significant differences in gut microbiota composition and metabolic pathways between the EPL group and NCs, indicating that gut microbiome alterations are associated with EPL.
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BibTeX
@article{yao2026structural,
title = {{Structural and functional characterization of the gut microbiota in women with early pregnancy loss in Northwest China}},
author = {Hui Yao and Juanjuan Chen and Cai Liu and Juanjuan Huang and Ling Liu and Qi Wang and Fang Wang},
journal = {Frontiers in microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1895733},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13671948},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Structural and functional characterization of the gut microbiota in women with early pregnancy loss in Northwest China
AU - Hui Yao
AU - Juanjuan Chen
AU - Cai Liu
AU - Juanjuan Huang
AU - Ling Liu
AU - Qi Wang
AU - Fang Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/02
JO - Frontiers in microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1895733
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13671948
AB - Background: Early pregnancy loss (EPL) is a common adverse pregnancy outcome with a complex and incompletely understood etiology. Moreover, metagenomic studies of the gut microbiota in women with EPL in Northwest China remain limited. Objective: This study aimed to characterize differences in gut microbial composition and predicted functional potential between women with EPL (EPL group) and normal controls (NCs) using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Methods: We collected fecal samples from 216 women in Northwest China (EPL group, n = 72; NCs, n = 144). Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed to analyze gut microbiota composition and assess the functional potential of the microbiota. Results: Our study revealed significant differences in the composition of the gut microbiota between the EPL group and NCs, as assessed by alpha and beta diversity analyses ( p < 0.001). Bacteroides was significantly more abundant in the EPL group, whereas Coprococcus , Bifidobacterium , and Roseburia were significantly more abundant in NCs. Compared to NCs, the EPL group had higher relative abundances of species such as Bacteroides stercoris , Bacteroides plebeius , and Bacteroides uniformis , but lower relative abundances of Bifidobacterium adolescentis , Megamonas funiformis , and Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans . Partial correlation analysis showed that Bacteroidetes was positively correlated with EPL at the phylum level. At the genus level, Odoribacter , Parabacteroides , and Haemophilus were positively correlated with EPL, whereas Corynebacterium , Lactobacillus , and Roseburia were negatively correlated with EPL. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed that pathways such as L-rhamnose degradation I, L-arginine biosynthesis III and 2-oxobutanoate degradation I exhibited significant positive correlations with EPL. In contrast, pathways including purine nucleobases degradation I (anaerobic) and chitin derivatives degradation showed significant negative correlations with EPL. Conclusion: The results of our study revealed significant differences in gut microbiota composition and metabolic pathways between the EPL group and NCs, indicating that gut microbiome alterations are associated with EPL.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -