Grewal I S, Flavell R A
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
Immunol Res. 1997 Feb;16(1):59-70. doi: 10.1007/BF02786323.
For several years, the primary function of CD40 ligand (CD40L) has been believed to be in regulation of contact-dependent, CD40-CD40L-mediated signals between B- and T-cells, which are essential for the regulation of thymus-dependent (TD) humoral immune responses. Recently, a flurry of reports indicate that CD40 is expressed by variety of cell types other than B-cells that include dendritic cells, follicular dendritic cells, monocytes, macrophages, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. These studies show that CD40-CD40L interactions are important in inflammatory process. For the past few years, through the availability of CD40L-knockout mice, new data have emerged to support the belief that CD40L has many more functions than its role in TD humoral immunity. CD40L-deficient mice have provided significant information towards our understanding of the in vivo role of CD40L. The current picture that emerges indicates that CD40-CD40L interactions mediate many cell-mediated immune responses and T-cell-mediated effector functions that are required for proper functioning of the host defense system. This article focuses on the in vivo role of the CD40L in regulation of cell-mediated effector functions.
多年来，人们一直认为CD40配体（CD40L）的主要功能是调节B细胞和T细胞之间依赖接触的、由CD40-CD40L介导的信号，这对于调节胸腺依赖性（TD）体液免疫反应至关重要。最近，一系列报告表明，除了B细胞外，多种细胞类型都表达CD40，这些细胞包括树突状细胞、滤泡树突状细胞、单核细胞、巨噬细胞、成纤维细胞和内皮细胞。这些研究表明，CD40-CD40L相互作用在炎症过程中很重要。在过去几年中，通过获得CD40L基因敲除小鼠，出现了新的数据支持这样一种观点，即CD40L的功能远不止其在TD体液免疫中的作用。CD40L缺陷小鼠为我们理解CD40L在体内的作用提供了重要信息。目前呈现出的情况表明，CD40-CD40L相互作用介导了许多细胞介导的免疫反应和T细胞介导的效应功能，而这些功能是宿主防御系统正常运作所必需的。本文重点关注CD40L在调节细胞介导的效应功能中的体内作用。
