Baff Binds to the Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor–Like Molecule B Cell Maturation Antigen and Is Important for Maintaining the Peripheral B Cell Population

作者：Jeffrey S. Thompson, Pascal Schneider, Susan L. Kalled, Lichun Wang, Eric A. Lefèvre, Teresa G. Cachero, Fabienne Mackay, Sarah A. Bixler, Mohammad R. Zafari, Zhongying Liu, Stephen A. Woodcock, Fang Qian, Marcel Batten, Christine Madry, Yolande Richard, Christopher D. Benjamin, Jeffrey L. Browning, Andréas Tsapis, Jürg Tschopp, Christine M. Ambrose · 发表于：The Journal of Experimental Medicine · 年份：2000 · DOI：10.1084/jem.192.1.129 · 被引用次数：399 · 研究领域：T-cell and B-cell Immunology、Immunotherapy and Immune Responses、Immune Cell Function and Interaction

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family member B cell activating factor (BAFF) binds B cells and enhances B cell receptor-triggered proliferation. We find that B cell maturation antigen (BCMA), a predicted member of the TNF receptor family expressed primarily in mature B cells, is a receptor for BAFF. Although BCMA was previously localized to the Golgi apparatus, BCMA was found to be expressed on the surface of transfected cells and tonsillar B cells. A soluble form of BCMA, which inhibited the binding of BAFF to a B cell line, induced a dramatic decrease in the number of peripheral B cells when administered in vivo. Moreover, culturing splenic cells in the presence of BAFF increased survival of a percentage of the B cells. These results are consistent with a role for BAFF in maintaining homeostasis of the B cell population.