Role and Mechanism of Paeoniflorin Promoting β-Defensin Expression in Candidal Stomatitis

doi:10.13701/j.cnki.kqyxyj.2025.08.011

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: To study the role and mechanism of paeoniflorin (PF) promoting β-defensin expression in candidal stomatitis. Methods: The model of candida albicans (C.a) infected Leuk-1 cells to detect the antibacterial ability of β-defensin was established. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbentAssays (ELISA) were used to detect the gene and protein expression level of β-defensin (HBD-1, HBD- 2, HBD-3). The expressions of phosphorylated P65 in NF-κB signaling pathway were detected by Western blot. Results: CCK-8 results showed that PF at the concentration of 5 μmol/L and 10 μmol/L was selected to treat Leuk-1 cells for 24 h for subsequent experiments which could significantly inhibit the adhesion rate of C.a to Leuk-1 (P<0.05). RT-qPCR and ELISA results showed that 5 μmol/L and 10 μmol/L concentrations of PF could induce Leuk-1 to express HBD-1, -2, and -3, which were statistically significant compared with the blank control group (P<0.01), and the survival rate of C.a under the action of PF decreased significantly. The expression of p-P65 protein was increased by PF. Under the action of inhibitors, the expression of HBD-1, -2, and -3 genes and proteins decreased significantly, the survival rate of C.a increased significantly (P<0.0001). Conclusion: PF induces Leuk-1 cells to secrete and express β-defensins and mucoprotein 1 mainly via P65-NF-κB signal pathway, which could inhibit the growth and control the infection and invasion of C.a, which provided a basis for PF to prevent and treat candida stomatitis and other oral mucosal disease.

Key words: paeoniflorin, candidal stomatitis, β-defensin

XIAO Lijun, PAN Yan, YANG Jiantang. Role and Mechanism of Paeoniflorin Promoting β-Defensin Expression in Candidal Stomatitis[J]. Journal of Oral Science Research, 2025, 41(8): 700-706.

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