Monoclonal antibodies to murine CD40 define two distinct functional epitopes

Two rat IgG2a 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 notion that the antibodies recognize distinct epitopes on CD40. The potential implications of two functionally distinct CD40 epitopes are discussed.