Published online Dec 28, 2021. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v9.i6.496
Peer-review started: April 8, 2021
First decision: October 3, 2021
Revised: October 14, 2021
Accepted: December 24, 2021
Article in press: December 24, 2021
Published online: December 28, 2021
Processing time: 263 Days and 22.9 Hours
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), also known as fecal bacterial therapy, is a treatment option that can quickly reconstruct the normal composition of intestinal microbes, and it has a good therapeutic effect on Clostridium difficile infection, as well as on other microecological disorders. However, the causal mechanism of FMT efficacy remains to be clarified, its safety is a major problem, and the standardization and acceptability of FMT need to be improved. This review summarizes its current research status and potential research areas that need to be strengthened, and proposes to clarify the safety of FMT and the causal relationship between FMT and therapeutic effectiveness based on germ-free animals. Meanwhile, the research system is combined with multiomics technology to screen the effective bacteria in FMT, and develop standard, safe, effective and controllable flora of FMT.
Core Tip: Gut microbiota plays an important role in the development and treatment of many diseases, especially gastrointestinal disorders. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has potential application in treating various diseases. However, the mechanism of FMT is unclear, its safety needs to be improved, and it is not standardized due to a variety of reasons. Therefore, in this review, we analyze the current dilemma of FMT and propose the importance of establishing a germ-free animal evaluation system, with an aim to help establish standard, safe, effective, controllable, and product-oriented formula flora of FMT.