To assess if the HIV infection induced any structural or size difference on the salivary MUC5B and MUC7 mucins, salivary MUC5B and MUC7 mucins from HIV positive individuals with different CD4 counts (< 200, 200-400 and > 400), were dissolved in a gel loading buffer and were subjected to a 4-20% gradient gel alongside the salivary MUC5B and MUC7 mucins from HIV negative individuals as a control (Figure 3). Here, MUC5B is linked to HIV infectious disease.