Figure 2.

Vaginal inoculation induces stress responses in the cervicovaginal mucosa of unvaccinated rhesus macaques but not SIVmac239Δnef-vaccinated animals. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrates widespread increases in p-p53–expressing nuclei, mainly located in the epithelium in unvaccinated animals but not in vaccinated. A, In the endocervix, the p-p53–expressing nuclei were predominantly located in the endocervical epithelium after vaginal inoculation. B, In the vagina, p-p53–expressing nuclei were located in the basal layer of epithelium in uninfected animals and then quickly expanded into the adjoining epithelium and submucosa within 3 days after inoculation. In the SIVmac239Δnef-vaccinated animals, both the endocervical and vaginal epithelium were negative for p-p53 staining before and after vaginal challenge. All scale bars denote 50 µm.