AARE Reporter Lentivirus

Background

The amino acid response element (AARE) mediates transcription during the amino acid response, a branch of the integrated stress response that adapts cells to nutrient limitation. When amino acids are scarce, uncharged tRNAs activate the kinase GCN2, which phosphorylates the translation factor eIF2α. This selectively enhances translation of the transcription factor ATF4, which binds AARE sequences to induce genes for amino acid biosynthesis, transport, and metabolic adaptation. Prolonged amino acid or glucose deprivation can also engage ER stress signaling through the AARE. This nutrient-sensing pathway is central to cellular responses to metabolic stress and is relevant to cancer metabolism and drug development.

Product Description & Applications

The AARE Reporter Lentivirus is a transcription factor reporter system that uses tandem repeats of the amino acid response element from the human asparagine synthase promoter, containing the nutrient-sensing response elements NSRE-1 and NSRE-2, to drive a reporter gene. This gives a sensitive fluorescent or luminescent readout of the eIF2α/ATF4 amino acid response pathway following amino acid or glucose deprivation. Reporter options include GFP, RFP, firefly luciferase, and Renilla luciferase, with optional blasticidin or puromycin selection. Particles are purified by PEG precipitation and sucrose gradient centrifugation and efficiently transduce difficult-to-transfect cells, including primary and thawed cells.

It supports stable reporter cell line generation for studying metabolic stress and integrated stress response signaling.

About This Product

This reporter lentivirus places a Firefly Luc, GFP, Luc, Renilla Luc, RFP reporter gene under the control of tandem consensus response elements specific for the Amino acid response (eIF2a/ATF4) pathway transcription factor, coupled to a minimal TATA-box promoter and a proprietary upstream enhancer that maximizes signal-to-noise. The constitutively expressed selection marker (Blasticidin, Puromycin) and/or secondary reporter enables stable polyclonal cell line generation and flexible readout by fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, or luminometry.

Stable integration via the lentiviral backbone ensures consistent, clonally representative reporter expression in dividing and post-mitotic target cells — including primary T cells, macrophages, organoids, and cryopreserved material — eliminating the variability inherent to transient transfection. The self-inactivating LTR design and third-generation packaging minimize insertional mutagenesis risk and ensure biosafety classification at BSL-2.