# BTLA

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/btla/  
OnCo record `btla` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

BTLA is a brake on T and B cells that is pressed by HVEM, a molecule many tumours carry. An antibody that blocks it is being tested with PD-1 blockade in small-cell lung cancer.

## Summary

BTLA (chromosome 3q13.2) is an inhibitory receptor on lymphocytes that negatively regulates antigen-receptor signalling through the phosphatases SHP-1 and SHP-2, and can interact with TNFRSF14 (HVEM) in cis on the same cell or in trans on other cells; in cis it appears to restrain trans interactions in naive T cells (UniProt Q7Z6A9). Its partner HVEM binds four distinct ligands, LIGHT, lymphotoxin-alpha, BTLA and CD160, forming a network of stimulatory and inhibitory signals (UniProt Q92956). Tifcemalimab, an anti-BTLA antibody, is in a phase 3 consolidation study with toripalimab in limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06095583).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: B and T lymphocyte associated; CD272; BTLA1
- Tags: checkpoint-map
- Symbol: BTLA
- Class: checkpoint
- Biology: An immunoglobulin-superfamily receptor with ITIM motifs; the HVEM interaction is the only established ligand pair.
- Where found: Lymphocytes (UniProt Q7Z6A9); Small-cell lung cancer trials of tifcemalimab with toripalimab (NCT06095583)

## Notes

- Prevalence not recorded: HGNC and UniProt carry no positivity rates.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:21087: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:21087
- UniProt Q7Z6A9: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q7Z6A9/entry
- NCBI Gene 151888: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/151888
- ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06095583: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06095583

## Connected records

- targets: [PD-1](https://onco.cc/targets/pd1/), [TNFRSF14](https://onco.cc/targets/tnfrsf14/)
- drugs: [Toripalimab](https://onco.cc/drugs/toripalimab/)
- cancers: [Small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/sclc/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- pathways: [PD-1 / PD-L1 immune checkpoint & T-cell activation](https://onco.cc/pathways/pd1-checkpoint/)
- terms: [Checkpoint (two meanings)](https://onco.cc/terms/checkpoint/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/btla.json