h/m KAT2A shRNA Lentivirus

Background

KAT2A, also known as GCN5, is a lysine acetyltransferase that modifies histones and non-histone proteins to regulate transcription and chromatin structure. As the catalytic subunit of the SAGA and ATAC coactivator complexes, KAT2A acetylates histone H3, particularly at lysine 9 and lysine 14, generating chromatin marks associated with active gene expression. Through these activities, KAT2A influences transcription, cell cycle progression, metabolism, and development. It also acetylates transcription factors and other regulatory proteins, broadening its impact on cellular signaling. Dysregulated KAT2A activity has been linked to cancer, where it can modulate oncogenic transcriptional programs, making it an actively studied chromatin-modifying enzyme and potential therapeutic target.

Product Description & Applications

The h/m KAT2A shRNA Lentivirus delivers validated short hairpin RNA targeting human and mouse KAT2A (GCN5) for stable gene knockdown. Each shRNA is validated to achieve at least 70% reduction of KAT2A using a fluorescence-based assay that provides a direct functional readout rather than transcript-level qPCR. The particles are ultra-purified and concentrated to high titer by PEG precipitation and sucrose gradient centrifugation, and efficiently transduce difficult-to-transfect cells, including primary and thawed cultures. A co-expressed fluorescent reporter (GFP or RFP, optionally with luciferase) and antibiotic selection marker (puromycin or blasticidin) enable stable line generation. A shRNA set option supplies a mix of two independent validated shRNAs plus matched scrambled-control lentivirus for loss-of-function studies of histone acetylation and transcriptional regulation.

About This Product

This validated shRNA lentivirus targeting KAT2A (NCBI Accession: NM_021078.3) delivers a 19–20 bp shRNA from a third-generation, self-inactivating lentiviral backbone. Expression is driven from a U6 Pol III promoter, with a constitutively expressed fluorescent reporter (GFP, GFP/Luc, RFP, RFP/Luc) and antibiotic selection marker (Blasticidin, Puromycin) co-expressed from the same vector. VSV-G pseudotyping enables broad cell tropism, including primary, suspension, and cryopreserved cell types.

Knockdown is validated using a proprietary bicistronic fluorescence assay in which the target mRNA is co-expressed fused to RFP alongside the shRNA-GFP construct. At least 70% reduction in RFP signal in GFP-positive cells confirms on-target activity — a more direct functional readout than transcript-level qPCR. Polyclonal stable lines can be generated by antibiotic selection within 10 days, preserving parental cell heterogeneity compared to single-clone CRISPR approaches.