Ad-hCD40L

Ad-hCD40L is a replication-deficient adenoviral gene therapy vector engineered to express the human CD40 ligand (hCD40L, also known as CD154). Developed by researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine, it is designed to enhance the immunogenicity of malignant B cells, particularly in B-cell malignancies like non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Malignant B cells often fail to trigger an immune response because they lack essential costimulatory molecules. Ad-hCD40L works by transducing these tumor cells to express CD40L on their surface, which then binds to CD40 receptors. This interaction triggers an autocrine or paracrine signaling cascade that up-regulates critical costimulatory and adhesion molecules, such as CD80, CD86, and CD54 (ICAM-1). This process effectively converts the tumor cells into professional antigen-presenting cells, capable of stimulating autologous T-cell proliferation and generating MHC-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses against the cancer.

Other names

adenoviral vector encoding human CD40 ligandAd-CD154Ad-CD-154Ad-CD 154adenoviral human CD40L