The DKK1 Knockout CAL-27 Polyclonal Cells represent a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout cell population derived from the CAL-27 human oral squamous cell carcinoma line, engineered for disruption of the Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) gene. This heterogeneous pool of edited cells offers a robust loss-of-function model without the need for clonal isolation, enabling comprehensive functional studies of DKK1 in a cancer-relevant epithelial background.
The parental CAL-27 cell line originates from a human tongue squamous cell carcinoma and serves as a widely characterized in vitro model for oral cancer research. CAL-27 cells retain key epithelial properties and exhibit invasive and metastatic behaviors, making them particularly valuable for investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor progression, angiogenesis, and therapeutic resistance in head and neck cancers.
DKK1 is a secreted antagonist of Wnt/??-catenin signaling that binds LRP5/6 and KREMEN1/2 co-receptors to induce receptor internalization, preventing Wnt-Frizzled complex formation. This maintains ??-catenin destruction complex (AXIN, APC, GSK3??) activity, promoting ??-catenin degradation and suppressing TCF/LEF-driven transcription of targets such as c-Myc, Cyclin D1, and AXIN2. DKK1 expression is regulated by p53, ??-catenin/TCF, TGF-??, and glucocorticoids, integrating signals from PI3K/AKT, TGF-??, and NF-??B pathways.
In CAL-27 oral squamous cell carcinoma, DKK1 deletion disrupts Wnt signaling balance, which is often altered in head and neck cancers. This knockout model facilitates studies on how DKK1 affects tumor proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and invasion via cross-talk with PI3K/AKT and TGF-??. Additionally, DKK1?CLRP5/6/KREMEN interactions are relevant to bone metastasis and tumor microenvironment modulation in tongue carcinomas.
Applications include Wnt luciferase reporter assays, Western blotting, RT-qPCR, and RNA-seq for pathway and gene expression analysis, as well as proliferation, wound-healing, Transwell invasion, and apoptosis assays to assess functional outcomes. The polyclonal pool is suitable for drug sensitivity screens, proteomic profiling, and in vivo xenograft tumorigenicity studies. For further information or technical support, please contact Ascent Research.
