B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) has long been viewed as essential for plasma cell survival via APRIL-mediated signalling. Here, using two independent BCMA-deficient mouse models, the authors show that both the generation and long-term maintenance of plasma cells are unaffected by BCMA deficiency, and these plasma cells express normal levels of survival genes, thereby overturning the prevailing paradigm of the APRIL–BCMA axis as critical for plasma cell longevity.
- Shannon R. Menzel
- Edith Roth
- Sebastian R. Schulz
