Rock-2 CRISPR Activation Plasmid (r): sc-437370-ACT

Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 2 (ROCK2; Rock-2) is a serine/threonine kinase that acts downstream of RhoA to regulate actomyosin contractility, stress fiber formation, focal adhesion dynamics, and cytoskeletal remodeling. Through phosphorylation of substrates such as myosin light chain and LIM kinases, ROCK2 integrates Rho/ROCK signaling with pathways controlling cell shape, motility, neurite retraction, and smooth muscle tone. In rat models, altered ROCK2 activity is frequently studied in the context of vascular remodeling, fibrosis, neuroinflammation, and injury responses where aberrant cytoskeletal tension and cell migration contribute to pathology. ROCK2-dependent signaling is also relevant to mechanotransduction and epithelial–mesenchymal-like transitions in diverse tissues, supporting its use as a node for dissecting contractility-driven phenotypes.

Rock-2 CRISPR Activation Plasmid (r) provides a targeted, non-destructive approach to upregulating endogenous expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

Rock-2 CRISPR Activation Plasmid (r) is a three-plasmid synergistic activation mediator (SAM) system engineered for highly efficient, site-specific transcriptional upregulation of the 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 transcriptional start site, where VP64, p65, and HSF1 act in concert to recruit transcriptional machinery and drive upregulation of endogenous Rock-2 expression. Unlike nuclease-active Cas9, dCas9 does not introduce double-strand breaks or modify the genomic sequence, preserving the native locus and enabling the study of Rock-2-dependent transcriptional responses at the endogenous locus, making it a valuable tool for functional studies, target gene identification, and the modeling of Rock-2 pathway restoration in tumor cells with silenced or reduced expression.

For Research Use Only. Not Intended for Diagnostic or Therapeutic Use.