{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T06:18:50Z","timestamp":1787811530638,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787788800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Purpose<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of chelidonic acid (CA) in\n                      <jats:italic>Aspergillus fumigatus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (\n                      <jats:italic>AF<\/jats:italic>\n                      )-induced keratitis and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The safety of CA was assessed using a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, live-dead cell staining, cell scratch assay, corneal fluorescein sodium staining, and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The antifungal activity of CA was determined using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays, calcofluor white staining, propidium iodide (PI) staining, quantification of corneal fungal burden, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The therapeutic efficacy of CA was evaluated by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, corneal clinical scoring, HE staining, immunofluorescence staining, myeloperoxidase (MPO) measurement, and Transwell migration assay. The anti-inflammatory activity of CA was determined by qRT-PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining. The therapeutic efficacy of combined CA and natamycin treatment was assessed by slit-lamp examination, corneal clinical scoring, PAS staining, and HE staining.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      5 mM CA exhibited no detectable cytotoxicity in RAW264.7 cells, human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) or mouse corneas. CA exerted antifungal effects in\n                      <jats:italic>AF<\/jats:italic>\n                      keratitis. CA significantly ameliorated\n                      <jats:italic>AF<\/jats:italic>\n                      keratitis by suppressing neutrophil and macrophage infiltration. CA markedly downregulated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1\u03b2 (IL-1\u03b2), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-\u03b1 (TNF-\u03b1), and upregulated the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, through inhibition of the myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88)\/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-\u03baB) signaling pathway. Combined treatment with CA and natamycin further reduced clinical scores, fungal load, and inflammatory cell infiltration compared with monotherapy.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      CA exhibits both antifungal and anti-inflammatory activities in\n                      <jats:italic>AF<\/jats:italic>\n                      keratitis and represents a promising candidate for the treatment of fungal keratitis.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1928802","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T05:39:46Z","timestamp":1787809186000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Chelidonic acid ameliorates Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis via antifungal and anti-inflammatory activities"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Wenting","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiang","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhen","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedic Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jintao","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, 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