Inhibits Hyphal Development and Diminishes Host Vaginal Mucosal TH17 Response.

and often co-colonize the female genital tract, and under certain conditions induce mucosal inflammation. The role of the interaction between the two organisms in candidal vaginitis is not known. In this study, we found that co-infection with significantly attenuated the hyphal development of , and that -Hwp1 signal pathway of was involved in this process. In a mouse model of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), the fungal burden and the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α showed a increase on co-infection with , while the level of TH17 T cells and IL-17 in the cervicovaginal lavage fluid were significantly decreased. Our results indicate that inhibits hyphal development by downregulating the expression of -Hwp1. The interaction between and may attenuate host vaginal mucosal TH17 immunity and contribute to mucosal colonization by .