Vitamin C enhances corneal fungal infection treatment in mice via chemotaxis and anti-inflammation.

ABSTRACT: Fungal keratitis (FK) is a persistent and vision-threatening disease. The potential of vitamin C (VC) in tissue protection is well-recognized; however, its specific role in FK and its interaction with antifungal drugs are not well defined. In this study, we investigated the role of VC in FK in vitro and in vivo. It revealed that VC substantially decreases clinical scores and corneal perforation rates in a murine model of FK. VC promoted a concentration-dependent increase in neutrophil infiltration via mast cells in vitro and confirmed this effect in in vivo experiments. Moreover, VC enhanced fungicidal activity by boosting infiltrated neutrophils, without influencing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production or neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation. VC

SUBMITTER: Xie Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12777558 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature