Figure 4
Effect of recombinant HlFER vaccination on the eggs and larvae. (A) The morphology of eggs laid by ticks infested on immunized rabbits was compared. Eggs with abnormal morphology, indicated by arrows, were observed from ticks infested on the rHlFER2-vaccinated group but not from the ticks from the control group. Bars = 200 μm. (B) Detection of oxidative stress in the eggs and larvae. Malondialdehyde (MDA), a product of lipid peroxidation, and protein carbonyl (PC) resulting from protein oxidation were detected in the eggs and larvae of ticks from vaccinated rabbits using specific immunoblot detection kits. Tubulin was detected as internal control. Proteins with increased MDA and PC are enclosed in blue and red boxes, respectively. C, eggs/larvae from a tick infested on a control rabbit; HlFER1, eggs/larvae from a tick infested on a rHlFER1-vaccinated rabbit; HlFER2, eggs/larvae from a tick infested on a rHlFER2-vaccinated rabbit.