Collection and processing of stool and blood samples.
STERILE
The study was conducted for 3 months, and feces and blood were collected from all participants at days 0 and 90 after the start of the study. Stool samples were self-collected by each subject at the specified time point at home using a uniformly provided sterile stool sampler with DNA protection solution (Guangdong Longhai Biomedical Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China). All patients were given prior training in the fecal collection procedure to prevent fecal contamination during the collection process. Collected samples were transported to the hospital at low temperature and were stored in a −80°C freezer before the next steps of sample processing for deep metagenomic sequencing.All patients were asked to visit the hospital after stool sample collection, when blood samples (after a 12-h fast) were taken. All collected blood samples were stored in sterile centrifuge tubes, before centrifuging at 4°C for 15 min at 3,000 The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Inner Mongolia People's Hospital (no. 201811002) and was registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (