protein
Basal cell adhesion molecule
Gene
BCAM
Organism
Homo sapiens(9606)
Length
628 aa
Mass
67,405 Da
Basal cell adhesion molecule (BCAM) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that functions as both a receptor and adhesion molecule, mediating cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions critical for cell adhesion, motility, migration, and invasion (UniProt: P50895). Its extracellular domain binds laminin and other extracellular matrix proteins, while its intracellular domain interacts with cytoskeletal proteins to facilitate signal transduction. JAK2-induced phosphorylation of BCAM activates its adhesion function via a Rap1/AKT signaling pathway (UniProt: P50895).
BCAM is associated with Alzheimer's Disease, where it shows upregulation in human post-mortem AD brain tissue compared to age-matched controls (Chaparral AD proteomics). Quantitative proteomic analysis using TMT-labeled tandem mass spectrometry across four subcellular fractions detected a mean log2 fold-change of 0.61, indicating increased BCAM levels in the AD brain proteome. This elevation may relate to altered adhesion dynamics or cellular responses in the context of neurodegeneration.
Generated from the curated entity record below. May contain errors — verify against source links.
Proteomics Evidence · AD
↑ Up in ADP3
not detected
P2
not detected
S2
not detected
S3
+0.608
Mean log₂FC across detected fractions: +0.6079 (1 of 4 fractions detected)
Human post-mortem AD brain vs age-matched controls, TMT-labeled, 4 subcellular fractions (P2, P3, S2, S3), DDA proteomics.
Related Publications
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Dujardin Simon et al.Nature medicine2020PMID 32572268Deep Multilayer Brain Proteomics Identifies Molecular Networks in Alzheimer's Disease Progression.
Bai Bing et al.Neuron2020PMID 31926610A Multi-network Approach Identifies Protein-Specific Co-expression in Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease.
Seyfried Nicholas T et al.Cell systems2017PMID 27989508Large-scale deep multi-layer analysis of Alzheimer's disease brain reveals strong proteomic disease-related changes not observed at the RNA level.
Johnson Erik C B et al.Nature neuroscience2022PMID 35115731Organization and regulation of gene transcription.
Cramer PatrickNature2019PMID 31462772
Function
Transmembrane glycoprotein that functions as both a receptor and an adhesion molecule playing a crucial role in cell adhesion, motility, migration and invasion (PubMed:9616226, PubMed:31413112). Extracellular domain enables binding to extracellular matrix proteins, such as laminin, integrin and other ligands while its intracellular domain interacts with cytoskeletal proteins like hemoglobin, facilitating cell signal transduction (PubMed:17158232). Serves as a receptor for laminin alpha-5/LAMA5 to promote cell adhesion (PubMed:15975931). Mechanistically, JAK2 induces BCAM phosphorylation and activates its adhesion to laminin by stimulating a Rap1/AKT signaling pathway in the absence of EPOR (PubMed:23160466)
Sources
Last updated 5/8/2026, 6:25:29 AM