2.1. Subjects

Subjects consisted of 35 healthy controls and 35 INS in adults. The definition of INS was 24-hour urine protein excretion over 3.5 g along with serum albumin less than 30 g/L based on the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2012 guidelines [9]. Subjects at age<18 years, with disease caused by secondary factors, treated with corticosteroids or maintenance dialysis, with diabetes or pregnancy, using antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics in the previous 4 weeks, or refusing to sign informed consent were excluded. This research received approval of Ethics Committee from the First People's Hospital of Foshan in Foshan, China. All subjects gave a written, signed informed consent.