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The Mechanism of IL-17 Regulating Neutrophils Participating in Host Immunity of RVVC Mice

  • General Gynecology: Original Article
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Abstract

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) are the most common lower genital tract infections in reproductive women. In recent years, the research on its pathogenesis mainly focuses on vaginal local immunity and IL-17 as key factors in adaptive immunity, attracting much attention. However, the role of IL-17 in local immunity in VVC and RVVC is poorly understood. At the same time, neutrophils are considered the most effective way to control and eliminate candidal infection and have a controversial role in VVC and RVVC. In this study, we built a mouse RVVC model. After analyzing the vaginal lavage solution of RVVC mice with an inflammatory factor antibody chip and ELISA, we found that IL-17 may play a protective role in RVVC. The experiment of constructing RVVC mice with different concentrations of IL-17 using halofuginone and comparing the vaginal fungi load and vaginal epithelial damage verified that IL-17 had a protective effect in RVVC. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies found that IL-17 can promote neutrophil apoptosis and recruit neutrophils in the vagina. The neutrophils in the vagina can secrete IL-17 in an autocrine manner. These two may be why IL-17 plays a protective role in RVVC. In summary, the study suggests that IL-17-mediated regulation of neutrophil function is involved in host immune response to RVVC, which helps us to further understand the potential mechanism of IL-17 in RVVC.

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Data Availability

The authors declare that all data and materials used in this research are available for consultation.

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Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.82260302; Grant No. 81660248) and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education Scientific Research Fund (Grant No.2022J0259).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of OB&GYN, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650101, Yunnan, China

    Mingkun Shao

  2. Department of OB&GYN, Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518020, Guangdong, China

    Mengyao Hou

  3. Department of OB&GYN, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650032, Yunnan, China

    Sainan Li & Wenjin Qi

Authors
  1. Mingkun Shao
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  2. Mengyao Hou
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  3. Sainan Li
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Contributions

S-MK, Q-WJ, H-MY, and L-SN conducted the experiments. Q-WJ planned and supervised the experiments. S-MK wrote the paper. All authors gave intellectual input to the study and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wenjin Qi.

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The experiment was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Kunming Medical University (No.kmmu2020178).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Shao, M., Hou, M., Li, S. et al. The Mechanism of IL-17 Regulating Neutrophils Participating in Host Immunity of RVVC Mice. Reprod. Sci. 30, 3610–3622 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-023-01291-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-023-01291-z

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