The CASP7 Knockout Huh-7 Polyclonal Cells are a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout population in Huh-7 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, providing a heterogeneous pool of CASP7-disrupted cells. This loss-of-function model avoids clonal selection, enabling robust functional studies of caspase-7-dependent apoptosis signaling.
Huh-7 is a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma cell line derived from a 57-year-old Japanese male. It retains hepatocyte features and is widely used as a model for liver cancer biology and hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication, making it valuable for studying hepatic oncogenesis and viral-host interactions.
CASP7 encodes the executioner caspase-7, which is proteolytically activated by initiator caspases such as CASP8, CASP9, and CASP10, as well as granzyme B. Activation occurs downstream of death receptor ligands (e.g., TRAIL, FasL) or mitochondrial cytochrome c release and APAF1 apoptosome assembly. Once active, caspase-7 cleaves key substrates including PARP1, DFFA, lamin A/C, gelsolin, and BID, thereby dismantling cellular structures and promoting cell death. Its activity is tightly controlled by inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, particularly XIAP, while SMAC/DIABLO relieves this inhibition. This places CASP7 at a critical nexus of intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways.
In Huh-7 hepatocellular carcinoma, CASP7 knockout enables systematic dissection of apoptosis resistance mechanisms commonly observed in liver cancer. The model facilitates evaluation of how loss of this executioner caspase influences cell survival, drug sensitivity, and viral cytopathicity, given Huh-7’s permissiveness to HCV. It also aids investigation of hepatocyte death in liver fibrosis and inflammatory conditions, where caspase-7 signaling is increasingly recognized.
These polyclonal knockout cells are ideally suited for apoptosis signaling studies, liver cancer drug screening, and HCV-host interaction research in a hepatic context. Researchers can assess caspase-7 activity using fluorogenic DEVD-ase assays, confirm cleavage via western blotting, and measure apoptosis by flow cytometry with Annexin V and 7-AAD. Additional applications include TUNEL staining for DNA fragmentation, MTT cell viability assays, and immunofluorescence detection of active caspase-7. For further technical information, please contact Ascent Research.
