Metamorph quantification of TJ proteins expression in all animals (9 to 11 mice in each group) showed that HIV-1 infection decreased claudin-5 expression by 5.2-fold (Fig. 4b, P < 0.0001) and decreased ZO-1 (Fig. 4f) and ZO-2 (Fig. 4j) expression by 3-fold (P < 0.0001) compared to PBS control. Here, CLDN5 is linked to HIV-1 infection.