AI Article Synopsis
- - Candida albicans is a fungus that normally lives in our bodies but can cause infections under certain conditions, especially when affected by external factors like hormones.
- - Research used a mouse model to study how the hormone estradiol affects the body's defense against Candida infections, finding that estradiol weakened the immune response.
- - The study suggests that estradiol impairs the function of dendritic cells (DCs), which play a crucial role in initiating immune responses, leading to higher vulnerability to infections during specific hormonal phases.
Article Abstract
Candida albicans is a commensal opportunistic pathogen that is also a member of gastrointestinal and reproductive tract microbiota. Exogenous factors, such as oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy, and estradiol, may affect susceptibility to Candida infection, although the mechanisms involved in this process have not been elucidated. We used a systemic candidiasis model to investigate how estradiol confers susceptibility to infection. We report that estradiol increases mouse susceptibility to systemic candidiasis, as in vivo and ex vivo estradiol-treated DCs were less efficient at up-regulating antigen-presenting machinery, pathogen killing, migration, IL-23 production, and triggering of the Th17 immune response. Based on these results, we propose that estradiol impairs DC function, thus explaining the increased susceptibility to infection during estrus.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1189/jlb.1110645 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!