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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Murine Model of CD40-activation of B cells
Published on: March 5, 2010
CD40 is required for the optimal induction of protective immunity to Mycobacterium avium
Manuela Flórido1, Ana Sofia Gonçalves, M Salomé Gomes
1Laboratory of Microbiology and Immunology of Infection, Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal.
Abstract:
C57Bl/6 mice and mice deficient in the CD40 molecule were infected with three strains of Mycobacterium avium. Two of the M. avium strains proliferated more extensively in CD40-deficient (CD40-/-) mice than in control mice. The increased susceptibility to infection of CD40-/- mice was associated with the generation of poorer interleukin-12 (IL-12) p40 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) responses as compared to the controls, suggesting a role for CD40 in the development of protective immunity. In contrast, direct triggering of CD40 on infected macrophages failed to induce any anti-mycobacterial activity in infected macrophages.
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