Chronic lymphocytic leukemia B cells can express CD40 ligand and demonstrate T-cell type costimulatory capacity

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by a clonal expansion of CD5(+) B cells in the peripheral blood. Associated immune aberrations include abnormal Th-cell function and pathogenic autoantibodies. Under most circumstances, CLL B cells do not proliferate in culture and express a limited repertoire of surface antigens, including CD19, CD20, CD23, CD27, CD40, and CD70. In this report, we demonstrate that freshly isolated B cells from a subset of CLL cases constitutively express CD40 ligand (CD40L, CD154), a member of the tumor necrosis factor family which is normally expressed by activated CD4(+) T cells and mediates T-cell-dependent B-cell proliferation and antibody production. The degree of CD40L expression varied considerably among the CLL cases examined. CD40L was detected in purified CLL B cells by immunofluorescence flow cytometry, by RT-PCR, and by immunoprecipitation. To demonstrate that CD40L in the CLL B cells is functional, we used irradiated CLL cells to stimulate IgG production by target, nonmalignant B cells in coculture. The CLL B cells induced IgG production by normal B cells to a similar degree as did purified T cells in a process which was partially inhibited by monoclonal antibody to CD40L. This is one of the first reports of CD40L expression in a B-cell tumor. The data suggest that CD40L in the tumor cells may be a factor in the generation of pathologic antibodies by normal B cells in some patients with CLL.