IL17A and infection: The host primarily utilizes IL-17 to defend against infections from Staphylococcus epidermidis, Rodentibacter pneumotropicus, and Candida albicans in the oral cavity, suggesting that Th17 cells play a crucial role in inflammatory processes, mucosal surface inflammation, and host defense against bacterial and fungal pathogens (Zhu and Qian, 2012; Fang et al., 2024).