CD40-CD40L is a key co-stimulatory pathway for B cell activation. As such, its blockade can inhibit pathogenic B cell responses in autoimmune diseases, such as Sjogren's syndrome (SjS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, we examined the in vitro effects of KPL-404, a humanized anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody (Ab), on primary human B cells derived from either healthy donors (HD) or autoimmune patients and compared them to the effects of G28-5, a partially antagonistic anti-CD40 antibody.
PBMCs from HD or SjS and SLE patients were cultured in high-density cell cultures in the presence of IgG4 isotype control or anti-CD40 Abs KPL-404 or G28-5. Cells were stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 cross-linking reagent ImmunoCult (IC) to induce CD40L-CD40-mediated B cell responses. B cell proliferation and activation, measured by dilution of proliferation tracker dye and the upregulation of CD69 and CD86, respectively, were assessed by flow cytometry. Anti-CD40 Ab cell-internalization was examined by imaging flow cytometry. Cytokine release in the PBMC cultures was quantified by bead-based multiplex assay.
KPL-404 binds to CD40 expressed on different subsets of B cells without inducing cell depletion, or B cell proliferation and activation in in vitro culture. Under the same conditions, G28-5 promoted proliferation of and increased CD69 expression on otherwise unstimulated B cells. KPL-404 efficiently blocked the CD40L-CD40-mediated activation of B cells from HD at concentrations between 1 and 10 μg/ml. Treatment with KPL-404 alone did not promote cytokine production and blocked the production of IFNβ in healthy PBMC cultures. KPL-404 efficiently blocked CD40L-CD40-mediated activation of B cells from patients with SjS and SLE, without affecting their anti-IgM responses or affecting their cytokine production. Consistent with the differences of their effects on B cell responses, KPL-404 was not internalized by cells, whereas G28-5 showed partial internalization upon CD40 binding.
Anti-CD40 mAb KPL-404 showed purely antagonistic effects on B cells and total PBMCs. KPL-404 inhibited CD40L-CD40-mediated B cell activation in PBMC cultures from both healthy controls and autoimmune patients. These data support the therapeutic potential of CD40 targeting by KPL-404 Ab for inhibiting B cell responses in SjS and SLE.