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). {ECO:0000269|PubMed:15975931, ECO:0000269|PubMed:17158232, ECO:0000269|PubMed:23160466, ECO:0000269|PubMed:31413112, ECO:0000269|PubMed:9616226}. This is the function of ENSG00000187244 (BCAM, basal cell adhesion molecule (Lutheran blood group)).