Fig. 5

Binding of components from the alternative complement pathway to the saliva of Rhipicephalus microplus. fB = factor B; P = properdin; BSA = bovine serum albumin (control). Assays were performed by adsorbing saliva (10 μg of salivary proteins) on a 96-well microplate followed by the addition of C3b, fB, properdin and Bb purified components in the presence of Mg²⁺. The binding of the components was assessed using specific polyclonal antibodies. Bars represent the arithmetic mean ± standard deviation (SD) of three biological replicates. Asterisks indicate significant difference from controls (*P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001)