B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA/TNFRSF17/CD269) is a transmembrane glycoprotein and a member of the TNFR superfamily. BCMA expression is mainly restricted to B-cell lineages. The activation signal transduction through this receptor regulates B-cell maturation and plasma cell differentiation upon binding to its ligands (BAFF and APRIL), thus playing a key role in humoral immunity. BCMA is expressed in many B-cell malignancies, and it is selectively expressed on the cell surface of malignant plasma cells with elevated expression. Therefore, BCMA has attracted much attention as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
