Fig. 3

Effects of ESC treatment on the gut microbiome. a Changes in microbial richness at species and gene level from baseline to week 12 in ALL, R and NR groups, with HC as reference. ALL included the samples from both R and NR groups. The table presents detailed results from longitudinal comparisons using LMM, with visit week coefficients and P values. b Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) plots based on the metagenomic profiles of different groups. c Changes in dysbiosis score (DS) from baseline to week 12 in the R and NR groups. NR was significantly higher than R at week 12 (P = 0.031). d Heatmap showing the average abundance of 24 species, which were significantly changed at week 2 or week 12 after ESC intervention, as determined by linear mixed models. Heatmap row annotation showing the colored coefficients derived from LMMs (Baseline vs. W2 and Baseline vs. W12) and multivariate regression models (MDD vs HC). The coefficients have different colors of blue (inhibited or enriched in HC) and red (promoted or enriched in MDD). Significantt differences are indicated by * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** q < 0.1. e Venn diagram of significantly downregulated metaCyc pathways in ALL (q < 0.25), R (q < 0.25) and NR (q < 0.25) groups after ESC intervention