Gut Microbiota and Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Pediatric Health and Disease: Mechanisms, Clinical Applications, and Future Directions

The gut microbiome plays a fundamental role in early-life development, immune maturation, metabolism, and long-term health. During childhood, the composition and function of the gut microbiota are influenced by genetic, environmental, nutritional, infectious, and pharmacological factors. Disruption of this developing ecosystem, commonly referred to as gut dysbiosis, has been associated with pediatric gastrointestinal, hepatological, nutritional, neurodevelopmental, and immune-mediated conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), functional gastrointestinal disorders, and autism spectrum disorder. However, the mechanisms linking microbiome alterations to disease development and progression remain incompletely understood, and the clinical significance of specific microbial signatures has yet to be fully established.Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and other microbiota-based interventions are increasingly being investigated as potential approaches to restore microbial function and modify disease pathways in children. Nevertheless, important questions remain regarding the appropriate indications for FMT, donor selection and screening, administration routes, safety monitoring, ethical considerations, durability of treatment effects, and long-term outcomes. The evidence base in pediatric populations remains limited and heterogeneous, while findings from adult studies cannot always be directly applied to children. Similarly, probiotics, prebiotics, dietary interventions, postbiotics, and precision microbiome therapies require further evaluation through well-designed clinical and translational studies.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of the pediatric gut-microbiome axis and evaluate the clinical potential of microbiota-based interventions in children. To gather further insights into gut microbiome development, dysbiosis, FMT, and related therapeutic approaches in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, nutrition, and associated conditions, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Early-life gut microbiome development and maturation• Gut dysbiosis in pediatric gastrointestinal, hepatological, nutritional, neurodevelopmental, and immune-mediated disorders• Gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease, MAFLD, functional gastrointestinal disorders, and autism spectrum disorder• FMT indications, donor selection, donor screening, administration routes, and safety• Ethical and regulatory considerations surrounding FMT in children• Short- and long-term clinical outcomes following FMT• Probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, dietary interventions, and other microbiota-based therapies• Gut microbiota as biomarkers of disease activity, treatment response, and prognosis• Microbiome-based therapeutic targets and precision medicine approaches• Metagenomics, metabolomics, microbial genomics, and multi-omics approaches• The gut–liver, gut–brain, and gut–immune axes• Clinical trial design, implementation, and standardized outcome assessment for pediatric microbiota research Topic editors: Dongling Dai, Haokui Zhou, Yongmei Zeng Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86539/gut-microbiota-and-fecal-microbiota-transplantation-in-pediatric-health-and-disease-mechanisms-clinical-applications-and-future-directions