MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO MURINE CD40 DEFINE 2 DISTINCT FUNCTIONAL EPITOPES

Two rat IgG(2a) antibodies which define distinct epitopes on murine CD40 have been generated. These antibodies specifically bind recombinant murine CD40 expressed on L cells, and the soluble extracellular domain of murine CD40 coated onto microtiter plates. Both antibodies bind B220(+) but not B220 murine spleen cells, and immunoprecipitate a 45-kDa protein from the surface of purified murine splenic B cells. These antibodies exhibit separate functional properties, consistent with the notion that they define two distinct CD40 epitopes. One of the monoclonal antibodies (designated 1C10) directly induces a specific proliferative response from mature murine B cells, up-regulates several B cell surface antigens, and rescues immature B lymphoma cells from anti-IgM-induced growth arrest. The other monoclonal antibody (designated 4F11) exhibits none of these properties, but is capable of synergizing with suboptimal amounts of either anti-IgM antibodies or the 1C10 agonistic anti-CD40 antibody to produce an optimal proliferative response of purified small dense B cells. Furthermore, 4F11 antibody synergizes with suboptimal amounts of 1C10 antibody to rescue B lymphoma cells from anti-IgM-induced growth arrest. The 1C10 and 4F11 antibodies were unable to cross-block each other's binding to recombinant CD40 expressed in L cells, providing strong support for the nation that the antibodies recognize distinct epitopes on CD40. The potential implications of two functionally distinct CD40 epitopes are discussed.