The DHRS4 Knockout Raji Polyclonal Cells from Ascent Research are a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal population of Raji B lymphocytes with targeted disruption of the DHRS4 gene. This heterogeneous knockout pool eliminates the need for single-cell cloning and provides a robust loss-of-function model for studying retinoid metabolism. The polyclonal format preserves genetic diversity and supports large-scale experiments such as functional screens and biochemical assays.
The Raji cell line is an EBV-positive B-lymphoblastoid line derived from a Burkitt lymphoma patient, exhibiting characteristics of mature B cells, including surface immunoglobulin expression and antigen presentation. Widely used in immunology and cancer research, Raji cells serve as a model for B-cell signaling and viral oncogenesis. Their rapid suspension growth facilitates genetic manipulation and downstream analyses, making them an ideal host for DHRS4 knockout to explore retinoid biology in a B-lymphoid context.
DHRS4 encodes an NADH-dependent short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase that catalyzes the oxidation of retinol to retinal, a critical step in all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) biosynthesis. In the canonical retinoid pathway, DHRS4 interacts with cellular retinol-binding protein 1 (CRBP1) and functions downstream of STRA6-mediated retinol uptake from RBP4. It operates upstream of RDH10 and ALDH1A family enzymes, which produce atRA. Upon synthesis, atRA activates nuclear RAR/RXR transcription factors, regulating genes such as HOX and CYP26. The pathway is further modulated by PPAR?? and feedback from retinoic acid itself. Disruption of DHRS4 therefore impairs retinoic acid production and alters downstream transcriptional programs.
In Raji B lymphocytes, retinoic acid signaling influences proliferation, differentiation, and immune functions, and its dysregulation is associated with lymphoma progression. The DHRS4 knockout model allows researchers to dissect how loss of retinaldehyde production affects B-cell metabolism and tumor biology. Given the lymphoma origin of Raji cells, this system is especially relevant for investigating metabolic reprogramming in cancer and evaluating the role of retinoid metabolism in lymphomagenesis, potentially informing therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways.
This polyclonal knockout product is applicable to studies of retinoid metabolism in B-cell lymphomas, retinoic acid signaling in immune cells, and drug metabolism in cancer. Researchers can validate DHRS4 disruption via Western blotting and RT-qPCR, quantify retinoic acid by LC-MS/MS, measure pathway activity with retinoid reporter assays, assess proliferation using MTS assays, profile transcriptomic changes by RNA-seq, and monitor B-cell markers by flow cytometry. The polyclonal population supports robust, reproducible results. For further information, please contact Ascent Research.
