CD40 ligand expression on stimulated T-helper lymphocytes in patients with common variable immunodeficiency

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common symptomatic primary antibody deficiency, characterized by reduced serum immunoglobulins levels and increased susceptibility to recurrent pyogenic infections. In this study, we evaluated CD40 ligand expression on stimulated versus unstimulated T-helper lymphocytes of nine Common variable immunodeficient patients in comparison with fifteen normal controls. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and Ionomycin were used to stimulate cells in vitro. After six hours stimulation, the cells were subjected to surface staining with three-color staining procedure. Events were analyzed by flow cytometer, using FloMax software. Results were reported as the percentage of lymphocytes expressing CD markers. We did not find any significant statistical difference in CD40 ligand expression between patients and controls (p > 0.05), despite having stimulation documented by CD69 expression as activation marker in each run. The results of this study are in agreement with some other studies, indicating that CD40 ligand expression on stimulated T-helper lymphocytes of Common variable immunodeficiency patients is similar to normal controls.