KATNA1 Knockout SK-HEP-1 Polyclonal Cells are a CRISPR/Cas9-edited polyclonal knockout population derived from the SK-HEP-1 human liver adenocarcinoma cell line. This product contains a pool of cells with targeted disruption of the KATNA1 gene, leading to loss of the p60 katanin catalytic subunit. As a polyclonal knockout model, it enables bulk population analyses without single-cell clone isolation, making it suitable for studying KATNA1-dependent microtubule-severing and its roles in mitotic progression and hepatocellular carcinoma.
The SK-HEP-1 host cell line originated from ascitic fluid of a 52-year-old male with liver adenocarcinoma and exhibits an epithelial-like, mesenchymal phenotype. Although sometimes considered of endothelial origin, SK-HEP-1 is widely used as a hepatocellular carcinoma model due to its tumorigenic and metastatic properties. The KATNA1 knockout in this background provides a relevant system to examine how katanin dysfunction influences liver cancer cell biology, including migration, invasion, and drug response.
KATNA1 encodes the catalytic p60 subunit of katanin, a microtubule-severing AAA ATPase. The p60 subunit is phosphorylated and activated by Aurora A kinase (AURKA) and Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), and is recruited to microtubules by the p80 subunit KATNB1. Katanin severs microtubules to orchestrate mitotic spindle assembly, centrosome separation, cilium disassembly, and axon branching. Additional regulators include Spastin, NDEL1, and EML1, while downstream effects involve YAP/TAZ cytosolic retention. Dysregulation of this network contributes to microcephaly, Seckel syndrome, and cancer.
In liver adenocarcinoma SK-HEP-1 cells, KATNA1 knockout permits dissection of microtubule-severing roles in proliferation, spindle checkpoint control, and sensitivity to microtubule-targeting chemotherapeutics. The model is especially useful for studying metastasis, as dynamic microtubule reorganization is essential for cell migration and invasion. Thus, these cells offer a platform to investigate KATNA1 as a potential therapeutic vulnerability in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Applications include live-cell imaging of spindle dynamics, immunofluorescence staining for ??-tubulin and ??-tubulin, and flow cytometry-based cell cycle analysis. These polyclonal cells are also suited for wound healing, Transwell migration, and spheroid invasion assays to probe motility and invasion. Co-immunoprecipitation can verify KATNA1-KATNB1 interactions, and drug sensitivity screens can assess cytotoxic responses. Expression changes can be monitored by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. For further information, please contact Ascent Research.
