The DST Knockout Raji Polyclonal Cells are a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout cell population with disrupted DST, generating a heterogeneous loss-of-function model for dystonin. This pool preserves population-level diversity while abrogating dystonin expression, making it suitable for screening, functional genomics, and downstream mechanistic assays without requiring clonal isolation.
The parental Raji cell line is an EBV-immortalized B lymphocyte from a Burkitt’s lymphoma patient, widely used as a suspension model for B cell malignancies and immune signaling. Raji cells express CD19 and CD20, maintain active BCR signaling, and proliferate robustly, offering a relevant platform for studying gene function in non?adherent hematologic contexts.
Dystonin, encoded by DST, is a large cytolinker that crosslinks actin filaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments, coordinating cytoskeletal organization and intracellular transport. Dystonin interacts directly with actin, ???tubulin, and vimentin, and collaborates with plectin and BPAG1e/n isoforms. Its activity is regulated upstream by TP53, mechanical stress, integrin engagement, and Rho GTPases (e.g., RHOA/ROCK). Disruption of DST ablates crosslinking, leading to actin network disorganization, microtubule destabilization, and defective intermediate filament tethering, with downstream effects on cell adhesion complexes and vesicle trafficking.
In Raji B cells, dystonin knockout likely causes profound cytoskeletal disorganization that disrupts intracellular transport and alters responses to mechanical or receptor-mediated cues, such as BCR or integrin stimulation. Because B cell activation, synapse formation, and survival depend on dynamic cytoskeletal remodeling, dystonin loss may impair these processes, providing a model to dissect cytolinker roles in immune signaling. Additionally, the suspension growth of Raji cells emphasizes cytoskeletal regulation independent of substrate adhesion, complementing adherent cell models.
This knockout population is well-suited for functional studies of dystonin in B lymphocytes, investigation of cytoskeletal regulation in non?adherent cells, lymphoma biology, and drug target validation for cytoskeletal proteins. It also provides a hematopoietic model to explore mechanisms underlying HSAN?VI and epidermolysis bullosa simplex. Representative assays include Western blotting, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, RT?qPCR, RNA?seq, viability/apoptosis, adhesion, intracellular calcium flux, and confocal microscopy. For additional product information, please contact Ascent Research.
