S. Neron et al., INDUCTION OF LFA-1 INDEPENDENT HUMAN B-CELL PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION BY BINDING OF CD40 WITH ITS LIGAND, Immunological investigations, 25(1-2), 1996, pp. 79-89
Engagement of CD40 on resting B cells in the presence of IL-4 triggers
B cell proliferation, differentiation and homotypic adhesion. This st
udy was designed to investigate the role of LFA-1/ICAM-1 interactions
in homotypic adhesion and proliferation of CD40-activated human B lymp
hocytes. Freshly isolated B cells were cultured in vitro in the presen
ce of IL-4 and of L cells expressing CD40L, the CD40 ligand. The addit
ion to the culture medium of LFA-1 and ICAM-1 antibodies inhibited hom
otypic B lymphocyte adhesion. However, these antibodies failed to affe
ct B lymphocyte proliferation and antibody production. These results i
ndicate that aggregation and proliferation are independent events alth
ough both induced by CD40 activation.