{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T12:02:20Z","timestamp":1784548940824,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784246400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Gilead Sciences, Inc. under the Gilead Fellowship Program, \u201cGS-Fellowship-2015-IFI-1\u201d","award":["PO217006436"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PO217006436"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Central venous catheters are a major risk factor for Candida albicans vascular infections, which remain challenging to manage. Although antifungal therapy is standard, the host pathways shaping vascular responses\u2014particularly the Notch signaling pathway (NSP)\u2014are not well characterized in this context. In addition, the potential influence of the prostaglandin pathway on vascular NSP-related responses during infection remains unclear. In this study, a rat model of central venous catheter-associated C. albicans infection was used to evaluate microbiological outcomes and vascular NSP-related protein expression. Immunohistochemical analyses were performed to assess Candida immunostaining alongside the expression of Notch receptors (Notch1\u20133) and ligands (DLL1\/4, Jagged1\/2) in vascular tissues. Experimental groups included sham, infected control, antifungal-treated (fluconazole, caspofungin, liposomal amphotericin B), and prostaglandin pathway-intervention groups (sulprostone and sulprostone followed by indomethacin). C. albicans infection was associated with higher vascular NSP-related protein expression compared with sham animals. Antifungal-treated groups showed lower NSP-related protein expression, while fungicidal agents were associated with absence of fungal growth in catheter and kidney cultures. In the sulprostone\u2013indomethacin-treated group, NSP-related protein expression levels were lower than those in the sulprostone-treated group despite persistent fungal burden. In conclusion, central venous catheter-associated C. albicans infection was associated with altered vascular NSP-related protein expression. Differences in NSP-related protein expression patterns were observed across antifungal- and prostaglandin pathway-intervention groups. These findings are descriptive and do not allow causal inference but may provide a basis for future studies exploring the role of NSP in vascular responses to C. albicans infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15070748","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T10:44:02Z","timestamp":1784544242000},"page":"748","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Vascular Notch-Related Protein Expression in a Rat Model of Central Venous Catheter-Associated Candida albicans Infection Under Antifungal and Prostaglandin-Pathway Interventions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2820-1731","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hande","family":"Berk Cam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Clinic, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya 07100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leyla","family":"Kilinc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, Akdeniz University Medical School, Antalya 07070, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2185-8842","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hasan","family":"Avci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Akdeniz University Medical School, Antalya 07070, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hakan","family":"Soylu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, D\u00fczce University Medical School, D\u00fczce 81620, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tugrul","family":"Cakir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Surgery Clinic, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya 07100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Derya","family":"Seyman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, University of Health Sciences, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya 07100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Filiz","family":"Kizilates","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Clinic, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya 07100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nefise","family":"Oztoprak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, University of Health Sciences, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya 07100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ismail","family":"Ustunel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, Akdeniz University Medical School, Antalya 07070, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1086\/421946","article-title":"Nosocomial Bloodstream Infections in US Hospitals: Analysis of 24,179 Cases from a Prospective Nationwide Surveillance Study","volume":"39","author":"Wisplinghoff","year":"2004","journal-title":"Clin. 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