BCMA/CD269

BCMA (CD269, TNFRSF17) is a TNF receptor family member whose expression is essentially restricted to plasmablasts and long-lived plasma cells. It transduces survival signals in response to the cytokines BAFF and APRIL, with a cytoplasmic tail that activates NF-κB, MAPK and STAT3 pathways rather than death domains. Because malignant plasma cells of multiple myeloma retain strong, stable BCMA display and shed it only into the marrow microenvironment, the antigen became the leading myeloma target: belantamab mafodotin, an anti-BCMA antibody-drug conjugate, and numerous BCMA-directed CAR-T constructs have shown efficacy in relapsed disease.