Discription：CD40 ligand is a 261 amino acid type II transmembrane glycoprotein belonging to the TNF family and can be cleaved into two chains： the CD40 ligand membrane form and CD40 ligand soluble form. It is primarily expressed on activated CD4+ T lymphocytes, and also found in other types of cells, like NK cells, mast cells, basophils and eosinophils. In total CD40 ligand has three binding partners： CD40, α5β1 integrin and αIIbβ3. It mediates a range of activities on B cells including induction of activation-associated surface antigen, entry into cell cycle, isotype switching and Ig secretion and memory generation. CD40- CD40L interaction also plays important roles in monocyte activation and dendritic cell maturation. The soluble form of CD40L is an 18kDa protein comprising the entire TNF homologous region of CD40L and is generated in vivo by an intracellular proteolytic processing of the full length CD40L. Recombinant Human soluble CD40 ligand is a 16.3kDa protein containing 149 amino acid residues comprising the receptor binding TNF-like domain of CD40L.
