expression of cd40 ligand (cd154) on lymphocytes in rheumatoid arthritis

cD154 expression plays a central role in both induction of immune response and in immune effector functions that may be of pathogenic importance in rheumatoid arthritis. High-level expression of CD154 has been detected on T-cells from patients with active SLE, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, indicating that such cells could account for the high-level expression of immune accessory molecules on B-cells of patients with active disease.To extend these observations, our study was designed to investigate the regulation of CD154 expression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and correlate it with clinical and laboratory disease status.