Incorporation of an isoleucine zipper motif enhances the biological activity of soluble CD40L (CD154)

Recent progress in the understanding of immune function indicates that the interaction of CD40L with its receptor, CD40, plays a pivotal role in both humoral immunity and cell-mediated defense against pathogens. Functional st udies of this interaction on both dendritic cells and malignant cells have demonstrated that CD40L also plays an important role in immune surveillance and anti-tumor immunity. CD40L exists in nature predominantly as a membran e-anchored molecule. To develop CD40L as a potential therapeutic, it is imp ortant to optimize soluble forms of this molecule that could be used in a c linical setting. Several reports have shown that soluble forms of CD40L, li ke CD40 antibodies, are biologically active. In the present report we demon strate that the incorporation of an isoleucine zipper trimerization motif s ignificantly enhances the biological activity of soluble CD40L.