Although the cytoprotective effects of CD40 stimulation are known to be largely mediated by the transcription factor NF-κB [11], stimulating CLL cells with soluble CD40 ligand also resulted in activation of AKT, as measured by increased phosphorylation at serine 473 [21, 35, 36]. The gene discussed is CD40; the disease is B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.