Figure 3

Effects of RHDV infection on markers of autophagy. A-B: Immunohistochemical labeling of the autophagy marker LC3 in the liver of RHDV-infected rabbits. (a) Control; (b) RHDV 12 hpi; (c) RHDV 18 hpi; (d) RHDV 24 hpi; (e) RHDV 30 hpi; (F) RHDV 36 hpi. Paraffin-embedded sections were immunostained with a LC3 antibody. Original magnification: 200×. The graph shows evolution of the percentage of positively labeled hepatocytes over time. Values are expressed as means S.E.M (n = 6). *P < 0.05, compared with Control. Image analysis was performed using the ImageJ software v3.91 [30]. C-D: Western blot of markers of autophagy. Proteins from liver extracts were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by immunoblotting. Equal loading of proteins is illustrated by GAPDH bands. The graph shows densitometric quantification. Values are expressed as means S.E.M (n = 6). *P < 0.05, compared with Control.