50 alleviates vulvovaginalthe gut-vagina axis: modulating microbiota, barrier function and inflammation.

Abstract

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common vaginal disease characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration and vaginal microbiota dysbiosis. In this study,50 not only exhibited the strongest growth-inhibitory activity againstusing a spot assay, but also significantly suppressed hyphal formation and decreased the expression of virulence-associated genes, including,, and. Furthermore, the effects of50 on-induced VVC were investigated in a mouse model. Oral administration of50 increased body weight, reduced vaginal epithelial cell exfoliation, and decreased fungal burden. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that50 significantly downregulated expression of,and-α, and upregulatedexpression at the transcription level in vaginal tissue. ELISA analysis further confirmed that50 increased the level of IL-10 and decreased the level of TNF-α in both vaginal tissue and serum. Histopathological analysis showed that50 significantly reduced epithelial cell exfoliation and alleviated vaginal structural damage by increasing the expression of occludin. In addition,50 modulated the composition of the vaginal microbiota, characterized by an increased abundance ofand a decreased abundance of-. It is noteworthy that50 also reshaped composition of the gut microbiota, also enriching the abundance of. Correlation analyses further revealed thatabundance in feces was positively associated with vaginaland negatively correlated with vaginal-abundance. Collectively, these findings suggested that50 may serve as a potential strategy to ameliorate VVC by modulating the gut microbiota to alleviate vaginal inflammation, enhancing mucosal barrier function, and restoring vaginal microbiota composition.