CD40 is a receptor on antigen-presenting cells of the immune system and is essential for mediating a broad variety of immune and inflammatory responses including T cell-dependent immunoglobulin class switching, memory B cell development, and germinal center formation. AT-hook transcription factor AKNA is reported to coordinately regulate the expression of CD40 and its ligand, which may be important for homotypic cell interactions. Adaptor protein TNFR2 interacts with CD40 and serves as a mediator of the signal transduction. The interaction of CD40 and its ligand is found to be necessary for amyloid-beta-induced microglial activation, and thus is thought to be an early event in Alzheimer disease pathogenesis. Moreover, CD40 molecule is a potential target for cancer immunotherapy.
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