Evidence mapPaperPMID 41823362Full record

ReviewMicrobial biotechnology2026

Precision Microbial Therapeutics for Infertility: Next-Generation Probiotics, Engineered Biologics and Translational Pathways.

Limiao Li, Lin Feng, Qiang Li, Yue Zhou, Sifan Liu, Huimin Song, Shengnan Kang, Huike Chen, Huifang Cong, Shumin Liu

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Microbial biotechnology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

10 authors.

Limiao LiHeilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Lin FengHunan University of Medicine, Huaihua, China.
Qiang LiThe First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbi, China.
Yue ZhouHeilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Sifan LiuHeilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Huimin SongHeilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Shengnan KangHeilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Huike ChenHeilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
Huifang CongThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbi, China.
Shumin LiuHeilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0961-0000

Funding

Heilongjiang Province Postdoctoral Fund LBH-Z24283
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Infertility affects ~1 in 6 people of reproductive age and remains difficult to treat because causes are heterogeneous and diagnostics are incomplete. Recent evidence reframes the female reproductive tract as a low-biomass but biologically active microbial ecosystem. Dysbiosis, typically loss of protective Lactobacillus species (notably L. crispatus) with overgrowth of anaerobic pathobionts, is associated with implantation failure and recurrent pregnancy loss. Framing conditions such as chronic endometritis and reproducible low-Lactobacillus endometrial profiles as dysbiosis-related disorders clarifies opportunities for prevention, companion diagnostics and microbiome-directed therapies. This narrative review contrasts receptive (Lactobacillus-dominant) versus dysbiotic states and summarises mechanisms linking microbiota to fertility: microbial metabolites (lactic acid, short-chain fatty acids) support epithelial barrier function and immune tolerance, whereas dysbiosis provokes inflammation that impairs implantation. Although observational data consistently associate Lactobacillus dominance with better outcomes, evidence quality is low-to-moderate due to retrospective designs, methodological heterogeneity, and a lack of adequately powered, diagnostic-stratified randomised trials. The review highlights precision microbial therapeutics under development, single-strain next-generation probiotics, synthetic consortia, engineered live biotherapeutics, postbiotics, targeted phage/endolysins and vaginal microbiota transplantation, and proposes a diagnostic-driven roadmap that matches microbiome endotypes and clinical contexts (e.g., preconception vs. immediate embryo transfer) to specific interventions. Regulatory and safety issues for reproductive biologics are also considered. The reproductive microbiome is a promising translational frontier but currently offers a consistent signal rather than definitive proof of benefit. To translate promise into practice requires standardised low-biomass sampling/reporting, mechanistic validation in human-relevant models and diagnostic-stratified randomised trials with staged endpoints, alongside strategies to address engraftment, formulation and regulatory pathways.

Indexed as

Biological ProductsBiological TherapyInfertilityPrecision MedicineProbioticsAnimalsDysbiosisFemaleHumansLactobacillusMicrobiotaBiological Productsendometrial dysbiosisengineered live biotherapeuticsfertility/assisted reproductionnext‐generation probioticsreproductive microbiome

Identifiers

PMID41823362
PMCPMC13097359

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.