The ACTR1B Knockout HeLa Polyclonal Cells are a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout population from the HeLa cervical adenocarcinoma line for loss-of-function studies of ACTR1B. The mixed-population format, generated by transient Cas9/sgRNA delivery, provides a heterogeneous gene-disrupted background ideal for high-throughput screening and large-scale functional assays where clonal homogeneity is unnecessary, minimizing clonal biases.
HeLa cells are an immortalized epithelial line from cervical adenocarcinoma, carrying integrated HPV18. Their aneuploidy, rapid growth, and high transfection efficiency make them a leading model in cancer biology, intracellular trafficking, and mitotic studies, particularly suitable for cytoskeletal dynamics and drug response research.
ACTR1B is a core dynactin subunit that links cytoplasmic dynein to microtubules for minus-end-directed transport. The dynactin complex (DCTN1/p150Glued, DCTN2/p50, ACTR1A, ACTR1B, DCTN3, DCTN4) interacts with dynein chains and adaptors to regulate cargo motility. Upstream kinases CDK1, ERK1/2, and PI3K/AKT modulate its activity, while downstream it drives trafficking of late endosomes, lysosomes, autophagosomes, and mRNAs, and is essential for mitotic spindle assembly, centrosome clustering, and nuclear positioning. Interacting partners include DCTN1, DCTN2, ACTR1A, BICD2, NDE1, NDEL1, and Lis1.
In HeLa cells, ACTR1B knockout enables dissection of dynactin roles in cancer-relevant processes. HeLa’s active migration and invasion render the model suitable for studying how dynactin loss affects motility, drug sensitivity, and mitotic fidelity. ACTR1B disruption likely destabilizes dynactin, impairing dynein motility and causing lysosome/autophagosome mislocalization, thus linking trafficking defects to autophagy and survival. This facilitates high-content screens for modulators of dynein-dynactin function, with implications for oncology and neurodegeneration.
Applications include Western blotting and RT-qPCR for ACTR1B and dynactin subunits, immunofluorescence and live-cell imaging of dynactin/dynein localization and organelle trafficking, wound-healing and Matrigel invasion assays for migration, flow cytometry for cell cycle effects, and co-immunoprecipitation for complex analysis. The polyclonal format is well-suited for high-throughput screening of transport modulators or chemotherapeutic sensitivity to microtubule agents like paclitaxel and nocodazole. For technical details or custom services, contact Ascent Research.
