{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T23:57:45Z","timestamp":1789430265121,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]],"date-time":"2025-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756857600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>While bacterial dysbiosis has been extensively studied in schizophrenia with metabolic syndrome (SZ-MetS), the role of gut mycobiota in this comorbidity remains unclear. This study represents the first comprehensive investigation of fungal communities in SZ-MetS patients (n=109) versus healthy controls (HCs, n=101) using ITS1 sequencing and multi-parameter immune profiling. Although global mycobiota structure showed no significant differences, compositional analyses revealed profound taxonomic shifts: pathobionts (<jats:italic>Trichosporon asahii<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Candida albicans<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Lodderomyces elongisporus<\/jats:italic>) were enriched, while putative beneficial species (<jats:italic>Saccharomyces cerevisiae<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Pleurotus ostreatus<\/jats:italic>) were reduced in patients. Enterotyping identified two mycobiota clusters (<jats:italic>Candida<\/jats:italic>-dominant vs <jats:italic>Aspergillus<\/jats:italic>-dominant), though their distribution was similar between groups. Notably, machine learning revealed a six-species fungal signature with strong diagnostic potential (AUC = 0.86). Species-specific immune correlations were also observed: inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and MIP-1\u03b1 were positively associated with <jats:italic>Ustilago esculenta<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Trichosporon asahii<\/jats:italic>, but negatively correlated with <jats:italic>Saccharomyces cerevisiae<\/jats:italic>. Furthermore, fungal abundances were differentially correlated with metabolic and psychiatric parameters, with <jats:italic>Lodderomyces<\/jats:italic> linked to elevated triglycerides and <jats:italic>S. cerevisiae<\/jats:italic> associated with reduced symptom severity. These findings reveal that while overall fungal community structure is preserved, SZ-MetS exhibits distinct mycobiota alterations that interact with host immunity and clinical manifestations, suggesting fungi may contribute to the SZ-MetS vicious cycle through taxon-specific mechanisms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2025.1652633","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,3]],"date-time":"2025-09-03T04:13:07Z","timestamp":1756872787000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Gut mycobiota dysbiosis and systemic immune dysfunction in Chinese schizophrenia patients with metabolic 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