The FKBP5 Knockout Raji Polyclonal Cells are a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene-edited polyclonal population derived from the Raji B lymphocyte line, designed for disruption of the FKBP5 gene encoding the FKBP51 immunophilin. This polyclonal knockout model provides a heterogeneous loss-of-function system for investigating FKBP51-dependent pathways without clonal selection bias.
The parental Raji cell line is an EBV-positive Burkitt lymphoma-derived B lymphocyte suspension culture originally isolated from an 11-year-old male patient. Raji cells are widely employed in immunology, oncology, and virology research due to their lymphoblastoid phenotype, EBV latency patterns, and relevance to B cell malignancies and immune signaling.
FKBP5 encodes FKBP51, an Hsp90 co-chaperone that regulates glucocorticoid receptor (GR) sensitivity by inhibiting GR nuclear translocation. FKBP51 forms complexes with Hsp90, Hsp70, Hop (STIP1), and p23 (PTGES3) to modulate steroid receptor maturation and client protein folding. Upstream activation by GR ligands and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-??, IL-1??) via NF-??B and AP-1 transcription factors induces FKBP5 expression. FKBP51 acts downstream to restrain GR signaling, modulate Akt phosphorylation, and influence NF-??B transcriptional activity. Consequently, FKBP51 serves as a stress-responsive hub linking glucocorticoid, inflammatory, and survival pathways.
In the Raji B lymphocyte context, FKBP5 disruption enables examination of FKBP51’s role in lymphoid stress responses, glucocorticoid resistance, and EBV-host interactions. Since Raji cells express functional GR and NF-??B signaling cascades, this knockout model allows dissection of FKBP51-dependent regulation of apoptosis, proliferation, and cytokine responses relevant to B cell lymphomagenesis and immune escape.
This polyclonal knockout cell population is suited for investigations of glucocorticoid resistance mechanisms, stress-related psychiatric disorder pathophysiology, Hsp90 client protein modulation, and B cell malignancy research. Compatible assays include Western blotting for FKBP5, GR, and phospho-Akt; RT-qPCR for FKBP5 and GR target genes; glucocorticoid response and NF-??B luciferase reporter systems; co-immunoprecipitation of FKBP5-Hsp90 complexes; flow cytometric GR measurement; and apoptosis/viability assessments. This tool also supports drug screening campaigns for FKBP5 inhibitors. For further details, please contact Ascent Research.
