Table 3.

Numbers of periodic acid Schiff (neutral mucin)- and Alcian blue (acidic mucin)-stained goblet cells per villus or crypt in the jejunum

	Jejunal villus	Jejunal crypt
PAS-stained goblet cells
Control	7.75 ± 0.55	5.92 ± 0.74
PRRSV-infected	7.67 ± 0.55	22.92 ± 2.30***
AB-stained goblet cells
Control	9.58 ± 0.89	9.58 ± 0.88
PRRSV-infected	6.25 ± 0.63**	22.08 ± 1.30***

Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 (statistically significant differences between the PRRSV-infected and uninfected pigs by the t-test).