
Ordering Information
| Product Name | Catalog # | UNIT | Price | Qty | FAVORITES | |
Melan-A CRISPR Activation Plasmid (h) | sc-418014-ACT | 20 µg | $397.00 | |||
Melan-A CRISPR Activation Plasmid (h2) | sc-418014-ACT-2 | 20 µg | $397.00 |
MLANA encodes Melan-A, a melanocyte differentiation antigen localized to melanosomes and involved in melanosome biogenesis and pigment-related cellular organization. Melan-A is tightly linked to melanocytic lineage programs governed by transcriptional regulators such as MITF and participates in pathways supporting melanocyte identity, antigen presentation, and immune recognition. Its expression is commonly used to stratify melanocytic cells and to study mechanisms controlling pigmentation and cellular differentiation. Dysregulated MLANA expression is frequently examined in melanocytic neoplasia and in contexts where melanocyte lineage markers inform tumor biology and immune microenvironment interactions.
Melan-A CRISPR Activation Plasmid (h) provides a targeted, non-destructive approach to upregulating endogenous MLANA expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.
Melan-A CRISPR Activation Plasmid (h) is a three-plasmid synergistic activation mediator (SAM) system engineered for highly efficient, site-specific transcriptional upregulation of the MLANA locus in human cell lines. The system is built around a catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9) carrying two inactivating mutations (D10A and N863A) that eliminate nuclease activity while preserving DNA binding. This dCas9 is fused to VP64, a potent transcriptional activator, and is co-expressed with a blasticidin resistance gene for selection. The second plasmid encodes the MS2-p65-HSF1 fusion protein, a secondary activator complex that works in concert with dCas9-VP64, alongside a hygromycin resistance gene. The third plasmid encodes a target-specific 20 nt sgRNA fused to two MS2 RNA aptamers that recruit the MS2-p65-HSF1 complex to the activation site, accompanied by a puromycin resistance gene. The three plasmids are delivered at a 1:1:1 mass ratio for balanced expression of all system components.
Once assembled at the target locus, the SAM complex binds within approximately 200 bp upstream of the MLANA transcriptional start site, where VP64, p65, and HSF1 act in concert to recruit transcriptional machinery and drive upregulation of endogenous Melan-A expression. Unlike nuclease-active Cas9, dCas9 does not introduce double-strand breaks or modify the genomic sequence, preserving the native MLANA locus and enabling the study of Melan-A-dependent transcriptional responses at the endogenous locus, making it a valuable tool for functional studies, target gene identification, and the modeling of Melan-A pathway restoration in tumor cells with silenced or reduced MLANA expression.
For Research Use Only. Not Intended for Diagnostic or Therapeutic Use.