Kehry M R, Castle B E
Department of Inflammatory Diseases, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc, Ridgefield, CT 06877.
Semin Immunol. 1994 Oct;6(5):287-94. doi: 10.1006/smim.1994.1037.
Helper T cell activation leads to transient expression of a ligand for the B cell surface protein, CD40. CD40 ligand can deliver helper T cell-derived contact signals to B lymphocytes that drive B cell activation and proliferation. Regulation of expression of CD40 ligand is analogous to that of other helper T cell-derived lymphokines. A soluble form of CD40 ligand is capable of delivering proliferative signals to B cells only when cross-linked or when IL-4 is added. Recombinant CD40 ligand in membrane vesicles can be used to develop in vitro systems for studying class switching, clonal selection, and affinity maturation in normal B lymphocytes.
辅助性T细胞激活会导致B细胞表面蛋白CD40的配体短暂表达。CD40配体可将辅助性T细胞衍生的接触信号传递给B淋巴细胞，从而驱动B细胞的激活和增殖。CD40配体表达的调节与其他辅助性T细胞衍生的淋巴因子类似。可溶性形式的CD40配体只有在交联或添加白细胞介素-4时，才能够向B细胞传递增殖信号。膜泡中的重组CD40配体可用于建立体外系统，以研究正常B淋巴细胞中的类别转换、克隆选择和亲和力成熟。
