The CD30 ligand and CD40 ligand regulate CD54 surface expression and release of its soluble form by cultured Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells.

The membrane-bound proteins CD30 ligand (CD30L), CD40L and 4-1BBL are members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily. They are expressed mainly by activated T cells. Primary and cultured Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells, regarded as the malignant components of Hodgkin's disease (HD), display high levels of the counter-receptors for these ligands, ie CD30, CD40 and 4-1BB. CD30L and CD40L are known to share some biological activities that can be linked to the unbalanced secretion of cytokines seen in HD. In addition, cell contact-dependent molecules such as adhesion or activation antigens are critically involved in T cell/H-RS cell interactions. Primary and cultured H-RS cells frequently overexpress intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1/CD54), BB-1 (B7-1/CD80) and B70/B7-2 (CD86). Here we show that CD30L and CD40L, but not 4-1BBL upregulate CD54 expression by cultured H-RS cells on the mRNA and protein level, as a result of transcriptional gene activation. Furthermore, enhanced CD54 surface expression by these cells is accompanied by increased shedding of surface-bound CD54, as evidenced by high levels of the 82 kDa soluble (s) CD54 form detectable in culture supernatants after specific stimulation. Addition of CD30L in combination with CD40L to cultured H-RS cells additively enhanced CD54 surface expression and its shedding. These results may give a plausible explanation why sCD54 serum levels are increased in patients with HD.