Benzyl isothiocyanate improves the prognosis of keratitis by reducing fungal load and inhibiting Mincle signal pathway.

keratitis is a potential blinding disease associated with invasion and excessive inflammatory response. Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) is a secondary metabolite with broad antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity extracted from cruciferous species. However, the role of BITC in keratitis has not been discovered yet. This study aims to explore the antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of BITC in keratitis. Our results provided evidences that BITC exerted antifungal effects against by damaging cell membranes, mitochondria, adhesion, and biofilms in a concentration-dependent manner. , fungal load and inflammatory response including inflammatory cell infiltration and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression were reduced in BITC-treated keratitis. Additionally, BITC significantly decreased Mincle, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 expression in RAW264.7 cells that stimulated by or Mincle ligand trehalose-6,6-dibehenate. In summary, BITC possessed fungicidal activities and could improve the prognosis of keratitis by reducing fungal load and inhibiting the inflammatory response mediated by Mincle.