CD86

Cluster of Differentiation 86 (also known as CD86 and B7-2) is a protein expressed on antigen-presenting cells that provides costimulatory signals necessary for T cell activation and survival. It is the ligand for two different proteins on the T cell surface: CD28 (for autoregulation and intercellular association) and CTLA-4 (for attenuation of regulation and cellular disassociation). CD86 works in tandem with CD80 to prime T cells.

The CD86 gene encodes a type I membrane protein that is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Alternative splicing results in two transcript variants encoding different isoforms. Additional transcript variants have been described, but their full-length sequences have not been determined.