Antigenic similarity between the mosquito vectors of malaria and filariasis.

Rabbit antisera were raised to the malaria vector Anopheles tessellatus, head-thorax, abdomen, and midgut preparations. Reactivity of the antisera with An. tessellatus and the filariasis vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blots. Although many antigens were shared between the two species of mosquitoes, tissue- and species-specific antigens also were identified.