Fig. 4

Comparison of body indicators between immunized mice and control mice infected with P. berghei after active immunization with Bm8 polypeptide or adjuvant, respectively. a Detection of copy number of P. berghei gene in BALB/c mice on days 3, 6, 9 and 12 post infection by qRT-PCR. Asterisk indicates a significant difference at *P < 0.05 vs the adjuvant group (t-test). b Parasitemia comparison in BALB/c mice infected with P. berghei versus control mice on days 3, 6, 9 and 12 post infection detected by microscopy. c Severity of babesiosis in mice receiving active immunization with Bm8 polypeptide versus the control group: i–iii changes in Hb level (i), body weight (ii) and body temperature (iii) in BALB/c mice challenge infection with P. berghei on days 3, 6 and 9 post infection. Asterisk indicates a significant difference at *P < 0.05 vs the adjuvant group (t-test). Bm8, B. microti protein 8; Hb, hemoglobin; mRNA, messenger RNA; qRT-PCR, real-time quantitative PCR