The AS3MT Knockout HEK293T Polyclonal Cells represent a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout cell population in which the AS3MT gene has been disrupted. This product provides researchers with a physiologically relevant loss-of-function model to investigate arsenic metabolism and detoxification. The polyclonal pool preserves heterogeneous editing events across the cell population, enabling robust phenotypic analysis without clonal selection biases.
These cells are derived from the extensively characterized HEK293T host line, a human embryonic kidney epithelial cell line expressing the SV40 large T-antigen. The HEK293T background is widely employed in biomedical research due to its high transfection efficiency and robust protein expression capabilities. Its epithelial origin makes it particularly suitable for studying xenobiotic metabolism and toxicological responses in a kidney-relevant context.
AS3MT encodes arsenic (+3 oxidation state) methyltransferase, which catalyzes the S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methylation of inorganic arsenite to monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). This sequential biotransformation is the primary route for arsenic detoxification and facilitates excretion. AS3MT expression is regulated by stress-responsive transcription factors including NRF2, HIF1A, and AP-1, linking arsenic methylation to oxidative stress and cellular defense pathways. The enzyme??s activity directly influences the balance between toxic trivalent intermediates and excreted methylated products.
In the HEK293T cellular context, disruption of AS3MT creates a powerful system to dissect the molecular determinants of arsenic toxicity. Because these cells lack functional AS3MT, they are expected to exhibit reduced methylation capacity, leading to altered cellular sensitivity to arsenite and accumulation of inorganic arsenic species. This knockout model allows precise evaluation of how arsenic detoxification interfaces with pathways governing hepatotoxicity and cancer susceptibility, and can be used to identify compensatory mechanisms or modifier genes involved in arsenic-related pathologies.
The AS3MT Knockout HEK293T Polyclonal Cells are well-suited for toxicology, pharmacogenomics, cancer research, and environmental health investigations. Typical assays include arsenic sensitivity profiling, methylation activity measurements, MTT viability tests, and apoptosis analyses, complemented by Western blotting, RT-qPCR, and RNA-seq for molecular characterization. These polyclonal cells provide a critical platform for elucidating arsenic detoxification mechanisms and their disease relevance. For further details or assistance, contact Ascent Research.
