Recombinant CD40 Ligand Administration Does Not Decrease Intensity of Pneumocystis carinii Infection in Scid Mice

SUMMARY: X-linked Hyper IgM Syndrome (HIM) is a rare congenital immunodeficiency recently demonstrated to be caused by a mutation in the gene encoding CO40 ligand. These patients are susceptible to Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, which implies an important role for CD40L in host defense against P. carinii. In this study we undertook to investigate whether treatment of P. carinii infected scid mice with murine recombinant CD40 ligand trimer (muCD40L) for 21 days would facilitate clearance of the organisms. We found no significant difference in organism burden in treated compared to control animals. Therefore in this model treatment with muCD40L alone is ineffective in clearing P. carinii infection.