About CRISPR-Ca9:

Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) is an endonuclease capable of cutting double-stranded DNA, enabling precise alterations to a cell’s genome. The CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system uses a guide RNA (gRNA) to direct the Cas9 enzyme to a specific target site within the genomic DNA. Once bound, Cas9 introduces a double-strand break (DSB) at the target location.

This break can be repaired by one of two main cellular pathways:

• Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ): An error-prone repair process that often results in insertions or deletions (InDels), which can disrupt gene function—commonly referred to as a gene knockout.

• Homology-Directed Repair (HDR): A precise repair mechanism that uses a supplied DNA template (donor DNA) to introduce specific genetic changes. HDR enables gene knock-in of foreign sequences or correction of existing mutations, making it suitable for targeted gene therapy or gene repair.

SpCas9 (from Streptococcus pyogenes ) is the most frequently used cas endonuclease in CRISPR. Ca9 protein can be delivered as the standalone expression, or delivered with a target gRNA in a one-vector system.

SaCas9 (from Staphylococcus aureus Cas9) is a smaller Cas9 ortholog (~3.2 kb) than SpCas9 (4.2kb). Both are CRISPR-associated endonucleases used for genome editing. However, their PAM sequence is different. The SaCas9 use the PAM sequence as: 5′-NNGRRT-3‘ (R = A or G) whereas the SpCas9 as: 5’-NGG-3’. The SaCas9 is often has less off-target effects than SpCas9.

GenTarget offers standalone SpCas9 and SaCas9 Expression Lentivirus, and other modified Cas9 enzymes, driven by different promoters with a variety of antibiotic selection markers (see the core expression lentivector scheme below). 

Gentarget also provides the SpCas9 Expression Adenovirus, SaCas9 Expression AAV virus, and Cand the Integration-Deficient Lentivirus for Cas9 expression.

Cas9 Lentivirus Product Features:

1. High Cas9 expression Level by enhanced promoters to fit different cell types;
2. High titer lentivirus provides more efficient Cas9 delivery in almost all cell types including primary cells and non-dividing cells;
3. Flexible selection with different antibiotic and fluorescent markers;
4. Best nuclear penetrating with enhanced NLS leader: the Cas9 is expressed with an optimized, proprietary Nuclear Localization Signal (NLS), providing the efficient cas9 delivery into the nuclear region where the gene-editing occurs.
5. Easy to use: you can simply synthesize the gRNA (or use gRNA lentivirus) and used it together with the Cas9 lentivirus for targeted gene editing.
6. The standalone Cas9 lentivirus allows generating CRISPR-ready animal models or stable cell lines in your desired cell types or animals that are used as a model for any gene editing.

Please see SpCas9 Product Manual, and SaCas9 Product Manual, or see each product page below.