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A murine VVC model was established by intravaginally inoculating\n                    <jats:italic>C. albicans<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Fungal burden, inflammation, and histopathological changes were assessed using colony counting, H&amp;E, and PAS staining. Immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses quantified the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis-related proteins. In vitro experiments using a spot formation assay revealed that LF21significantly inhibited\n                    <jats:italic>C. albicans<\/jats:italic>\n                    growth. Additionally, oral administration of LF21 alleviated VVC symptoms in mice inoculated with\n                    <jats:italic>C. albicans<\/jats:italic>\n                    , reducing the vaginal fungal burden and IL-1\u03b2 levels. Histological analysis revealed reduced polymorphonuclear neutrophil infiltration and decreased\n                    <jats:italic>C. albicans<\/jats:italic>\n                    presence in the vaginal tissues of LF21-treated mice. LF21 treatment significantly reduced the expression of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome components and pyroptosis-related proteins, including gasdermin-D, which were upregulated in response to the inoculation of\n                    <jats:italic>C. albicans<\/jats:italic>\n                    . These findings suggest that LF21 exerts antifungal effects by modulating the NLRP3 inflammasome and consequently reducing inflammation, indicating its potential as a novel therapeutic agent for treating VVC.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s12602-025-10619-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]],"date-time":"2025-06-17T03:35:58Z","timestamp":1750131358000},"page":"1755-1764","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Limosilactobacillus fermentum 21 N1 Mitigates Candida albicans-Induced Vulvovaginal Candidiasis and Suppresses NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in a Mouse Model"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Eun Yeong","family":"Lim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gun-Dong","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Geun-Hye","family":"Hong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"So-Young","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"So-Young","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hee Soon","family":"Shin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"10619_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1961","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(07)60917-9","volume":"369","author":"JD Sobel","year":"2007","unstructured":"Sobel JD (2007) Vulvovaginal candidosis. 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