The GALNT2 Knockout Raji Polyclonal Cells are a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout population in which the GALNT2 gene has been disrupted. This heterogeneous pool of Raji cells provides a loss-of-function model of GALNT2, the enzyme that initiates mucin-type O-glycosylation in the Golgi apparatus by transferring N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) to serine/threonine residues of target proteins. The polyclonal format captures a range of gene-editing events, making it suitable for functional genomics studies without clonal artifacts.
The parental Raji cell line is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive human B lymphoblastoid line originally isolated from a Nigerian Burkitt lymphoma patient. Raji cells are widely employed in hematological cancer research due to their expression of B-cell surface markers and constitutive EBV-driven growth. This cellular model provides a relevant context for studying how glycosylation influences proliferation, apoptosis, and immune interactions in B-cell lymphomas.
GALNT2 functions under the transcriptional control of SP1, TGF-??, and hypoxia-inducible factors, and acts on key substrates including MUC1, MUC4, EGFR, and the insulin receptor. It collaborates with other glycosyltransferases such as GALNT1, GALNT3, C1GALT1, and B3GNT6 within the Golgi to elaborate O-glycan structures. Through these modifications, GALNT2 influences receptor stability, ligand binding, cell adhesion, and downstream signaling, linking O-glycosylation to cancer progression, dyslipidemia, and congenital disorders of glycosylation.
In the Raji Burkitt lymphoma context, GALNT2 knockout allows dissection of mucin-type O-glycosylation’s role in B-cell malignancy. Raji cells exhibit aberrant glycosylation linked to EBV transformation; depletion of GALNT2 alters the O-glycoproteome, potentially impacting surface receptor dynamics, adhesion properties, and apoptotic thresholds. The polyclonal knockout population mirrors heterogeneous glycosylation responses, enabling investigation of how variable GALNT2 disruption affects oncogenic signaling and immune evasion at the population level.
This knockout cell product supports lectin blotting with Vicia villosa or Helix pomatia agglutinins to assess O-glycan changes, flow cytometry for cell surface glycan profiling, and Annexin V apoptosis assays. Additional applications include cell adhesion and migration/invasion assays to probe metastatic behavior, as well as glycoproteomic and RNA-seq analyses to map glycosylation-related gene networks. For detailed product information or assistance, please contact Ascent Research.
