Figure 1. The frequency of Ig-secreting cells in the oral mucosa and submandibular salivary glands of SIV-infected and normal rhesus macaques. (A) The frequency of Ig-secreting cells in the buccal mucosa of SIV-infected and normal rhesus macaques. (B) The frequency of Ig-secreting cells in the submandibular salivary glands of SIV-infected and normal macaques. The data were expressed as Ig-forming cells (ISCs) per million mononuclear cells (MNC). The bars represent the mean and one standard error. The unpaired t test was used to compare a significant difference between the frequency of ISCs in SIV-infected and normal rhesus macaques, and between isotypes of ISCs in the same tissues. A p value less than 0.05 was considered significant, and is labeled on the top of the bar. The frequency of IgAsecreting cells was predominant over that of IgG-secreting cells in the buccal mucosa and the submandibular glands. SIVmac239 infection resulted in a significantly increased frequency of IgA-secreting cells in the buccal mucosa when compared with the frequency of IgG-secreting cells (p < 0.011). Significant differences in ISCs frequency were not found between SIV-infected and normal monkeys in either the buccal mucosa or the submandibular glands. Results were derived from MNCs isolated from the cheek mucosa and submandibular glands of 6–8 SIV-infected or normal rhesus macaques.