Soluble CD40 ligand contributes to dendritic cell-mediated T-cell dysfunction in HIV-1 infection.

OBJECTIVE Plasma soluble CD40L (sCD40L) is increased during human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) infection, but it is unknown whether it circulates in monomeric or multimeric forms, and whether the circulating forms have differential effects on myeloid dendritic cell (DC) function and adaptive regulation.