T-cell recruitment into the brain is critical in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases of the CNS. We use intracerebral antigen microinjection and tetramer technology to track antigen-specific CD8+ T-cells in the CNS and to clarify the contribution of antigen deposition or traumatic injury to the accumulation of T-cells in the brain. We demonstrate that, after intracerebral microinjection of ova...

CONTEXTS CD154 (commonly referred to as CD40-ligand) is a critical T cell factor that participates in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and is over-expressed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). TNF-α blockade treatment had dramatic efficacy in RA. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether TNF-α blockade treatment can inhibit CD154 expression in RA. METHODS Blood samples were collected from 33 patients with r...

While it has long been understood that CD40 plays a critical role in the etiology of autoimmunity, glycobiology is emerging as an important contributor. CD40 signaling is also gaining further interest in transplantation and cancer therapies. Work on CD40 signaling has focused on signaling outcomes and blocking of its ligand, CD154, while little is known about the actual receptor itself and its ...

The ligand for CD40 has been recently identified as a 39-kd protein, gp39, expressed on the surface of activated CD4+ T helper cells (Th). In vitro, soluble CD40 and anti-gp39 have been shown to block the ability of Th to activate B cells, suggesting that gp39-CD40 interactions are important to T cell-dependent B cell activation. Here it is shown that in vivo administration of anti-gp39 dramati...

The CD40 ligand (CD40L) and CD40 are two molecules belonging to the TNF/TNF receptor superfamily, and their role in adaptive immune system has widely been explored. However, the wide range of expression of these molecules on hematopoietic as well as nonhematopoietic cells has revealed multiple functions of the CD40/CD40L interactions on different cell types and processes such as granulopoiesis....

BACKGROUND Soluble CD40L (sCD40L), a substance that maximally reflects in vivo platelet activation, is increased in patients with hypercholesterolemia. We investigated the relation between sCD40L and platelet CD4OL in hypercholesterolemic patients before and after a short-term treatment with atorvastatin. METHODS AND RESULTS Collagen-induced platelet CD40L and plasma levels of sCD40L and prot...

In this study, we have investigated CD40 expression in human peripheral blood eosinophils and in human chronically inflamed nasal tissues, i.e., nasal polyps. We show by both reverse transcriptase–PCR and Northern blot analysis that eosinophils from allergic subjects express human CD40 mRNA. We also show that constitutive CD40 mRNA expression in eosinophils could be upregulated by exposure to I...

Despite the use of anti-retroviral therapies, a majority of HIV-infected individuals still develop HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND), indicating that host inflammatory mediators, in addition to viral proteins, may be contributing to these disorders. Consistently, we have previously shown that levels of the inflammatory mediator soluble CD40L (sCD40L) are elevated in the circulation...

CD40 and CD154 (CD40 ligand) are surface molecules that are central to the cross-talk between T cells and antigen-presenting cells. This article reviews the relevance of CD40-CD154 interaction for regulation of interleukin-12/interferon-gamma production in response to Toxoplasma gondii as an example of an intracellular pathogen. The manner in which defects in CD154 signaling contribute to immun...