CD20

CD20 is a tetraspanin-like membrane protein, encoded by the MS4A1 gene, found almost exclusively on B lymphocytes from the pre-B-cell stage until plasma-cell differentiation. The protein forms oligomeric calcium channels that help sustain intracellular calcium stores required for B-cell receptor signaling and activation. Because CD20 is neither shed nor internalized appreciably and is absent from stem cells and plasma cells, it became the premier target for B-cell depleting antibodies; rituximab, ofatumumab and obinutuzumab treat lymphomas, leukemias and autoimmune diseases, while anti-CD20 CAR T cells address relapsed disease. CD20 is also a defining marker in B-cell lymphoma pathology.