Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40790223›Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2025

Metagenome-based characterization of the gut virome in patients with schizophrenia.

Yi Ren, Pan Zhang, Hailong Yu, Shenghui Li, Hongli Jiang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Can bacteria control the human brain?Communicative & integrative biology · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Yi RenDepartment of Critical Care Nephrology and Blood Purification, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, West Yanta Road 277, Xi'an, 710016, Shaanxi, China.
Pan ZhangDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710004, China.
Hailong YuPuensum Genetech Institute, Wuhan, 430076, China.
Shenghui LiPuensum Genetech Institute, Wuhan, 430076, China.
Hongli JiangDepartment of Critical Care Nephrology and Blood Purification, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, West Yanta Road 277, Xi'an, 710016, Shaanxi, China. j92106@sina.com.ORCID 0000-0001-9262-6112

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82170755Scientif Research Foudation of People's Hospital of Longhua of Shenzhen LHYYKYQD20240307
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSchizophrenia (SCZ) is a multifactorial psychiatric disorder increasingly linked to gut microbial dysbiosis. While bacterial alterations have been widely studied, the role of the gut virome in SCZ remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to characterize the gut virome in SCZ and identify potential viral biomarkers associated with the disease.

methodsWe analyzed fecal metagenomic data from 171 individuals (90 SCZ patients and 81 controls) using the Chinese Gut Virus Catalog (cnGVC). We assessed gut virome diversity, identified SCZ-associated vOTUs, explored virus-bacteria correlations, and evaluated diagnostic potential using random forest models. In addition, we examined follow-up samples from SCZ patients to assess the impact of antipsychotic treatment on the gut virome.

resultsWe identified 171 vOTUs that differed significantly between SCZ patients and controls, with 124 enriched in SCZ-mainly from Siphoviridae and Flandersviridae. Correlation analysis revealed altered virus-bacteria interactions in SCZ, including disease-specific associations with Akkermansia and Clostridia. A random forest classifier based on virome features achieved an AUC of 93.2%, outperforming the bacterial model. External validation using ASD and PD cohorts yielded lower AUCs (61.2-67.0%), suggesting disease specificity. In follow-up samples collected after three months of treatment, we observed partial changes in alpha diversity, while beta diversity remained stable, indicating that antipsychotic therapy may alter specific viral taxa without broadly reshaping the overall gut virome structure.

conclusionsThis study provides evidence of distinct gut virome alterations in SCZ and identifies specific viral markers with strong diagnostic potential. These findings highlight the underappreciated role of the gut virome in psychiatric disorders and support its utility as a non-invasive biomarker for SCZ diagnosis and future therapeutic development.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeMetagenomeSchizophreniaViromeAdultCase-Control StudiesFecesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedGut microbiotaGut viromeSchizophreniaViral diversityVirome-bacteria interaction

Identifiers

PMID40790223
PMCPMC12341127

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.