Activated platelets express CD40L on their plasma membrane and release the soluble fragment sCD40L. The interaction between platelet surface CD40L and endothelial cell CD40 leads to the activation of endothelium contributing to atherothrombosis. Few studies have directly demonstrated an increased expression of platelet CD40L in conditions of in vivo platelet activation in humans, and no data ar...

The CD40-CD40 ligand (CD40L) system (CD154) is a central means of immune cell communication crucial for Ig class switching and enhanced Ag presentation. CD40 is also a key signaling conduit to activate nonhematopoietic cells, such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells, to produce proinflammatory mediators. Disruption of the CD40-CD40L pathway reduces lung inflammation and fibrosis, autoimmune di...

OBJECTIVE Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile vasculitic syndrome in children. CD40 ligand (CD40L) has been implicated in certain types of vasculitis. We proposed that CD40L expression might be correlated with coronary artery lesions in KD. METHODS Blood samples were collected from 43 patients with KD before intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment and 3 days afterward. Forty-three a...

CD40 ligand (CD40L) gene therapy offers a potentially useful option for lung cancer due to its multiple antitumor activities. However, membrane-bound CD40L may be proteolytically cleaved to form soluble CD40L (sCD40L), which results in adverse effects. In a previous study by our group, it was demonstrated that recombinant self-complementary adeno-associated virus 5 (scAAV5) efficiently delivere...

Chronic inflammation is a poorly understood, but problematic, manisfestation of sickle cell disease (SCD). The potent inflammatory mediator CD40L increases leukocyte proliferation, endothelial adhesiveness and procoagulant activity once it is exposed and released from encrypted sites following platelet activation. Since elevated leukocyte counts, adhesion and coagulation are associated with mor...

We investigated the role of the costimulatory molecules, CD40 and its ligand CD40L, in the pathogenesis of human SLE. In comparison to normal subjects or patients in remission, PBMC from active lupus patients had a 21-fold increase in the frequency of CD40L-expressing, CD4+T cells. However, the expression of CD40L induced in either lupus or normal T cells by mitogenic stimulation could be down-...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Many host genetic factors are associated with the disease severity and fatal outcome of falciparum malaria. CD40L gene has been found to be one of the most important factors associated with malaria in African countries. This study was aimed to investigate the possible association of CD40L gene polymorphism in severe falciparum malaria in Indian adults. METHODS One hund...

CD40 ligand is expressed on activated T cells and interacts with CD40 on B cells and monocytes. It is not known what role CD40 ligand plays in the generation of immune responses to viral infection. To address this issue, we examined virus-specific T- and B-cell responses in CD40 ligand-deficient (CD40L-/-) mice following infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). We found that pr...

X-linked hyper IgM syndrome (XHIM) is a primary immunodeficiency disorder caused by mutations of the gene encoding CD40 ligand (CD40L). We correlated mutations of the CD40L gene, CD40L expression, and the clinical manifestations observed in XHIM patients from 30 families. The 28 unique mutations identified included 9 missense, 5 nonsense, 9 splice site mutations, and 5 deletions/insertions. In ...

CD40L is a membrane protein belonging to the tumour necrosis factor family, originally found on activated T cells. The CD40L-CD40 interaction is of critical importance in the adaptive immune response, in innate immunity and in inflammation. Recently, activated platelets have been found to express CD40L. Platelets can stimulate endothelial cells via a CD40L-CD40 interaction to upregulate adhesio...