The AAR2 Knockout SK-HEP-1 Polyclonal Cells product is a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout population derived from SK-HEP-1, a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line. This heterogeneous pool carries diverse AAR2 gene disruptions, collectively abolishing functional protein expression. The polyclonal format circumvents clonal selection biases, making it ideal for population-level functional studies. Cells are supplied as a cryopreserved vial ready for expansion.
The parental SK-HEP-1 cell line was established from ascitic fluid of a patient with liver adenocarcinoma and exhibits a mixed epithelial-endothelial phenotype characterized by co-expression of epithelial markers (cytokeratins) and endothelial markers (CD34). This unique feature makes it a valuable model for studying hepatocellular carcinoma biology, tumor angiogenesis, and metastasis. SK-HEP-1 is widely used in cancer research to investigate liver tumor progression and endothelial-like cell plasticity.
AAR2 encodes a core protein of the U5 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP), essential for pre-mRNA splicing and spliceosome activation. It directly interacts with key U5 snRNP components including PRPF8, SNRNP200, EFTUD2, PRPF6, and SNRNP40. Transcription factors MYC and E2F1 regulate AAR2 expression. Disruption of AAR2 leads to global splicing dysregulation, marked by intron retention and aberrant protein expression, particularly affecting transcripts with weak splice sites.
In hepatocellular carcinoma, splicing dysregulation contributes to oncogenic transformation. The AAR2 knockout in SK-HEP-1 enables dissection of spliceosome-dependent malignancy mechanisms. The dual epithelial-endothelial nature of SK-HEP-1 facilitates exploration of impacts on epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion, and angiogenic signaling. The polyclonal pool captures splicing heterogeneity relevant to tumor evolution.
This model supports RNA-seq for splicing analysis, RT-PCR for intron retention, co-immunoprecipitation of U5 snRNP complexes, and functional assays such as viability, migration, and invasion. The polyclonal population is suitable for spliceosome-targeted drug screening. For further details, contact Ascent Research.
