CRISPRa Screening

Presenting a CRISPR activation screening service (CRISPRa) that provides new opportunities to explore resistance mechanisms for your therapeutic through gain-of-function gene modulation

This novel human whole-genome CRISPRa platform amplifies gene expression in its endogenous context to study activation-linked responses and can effectively identify resistant genes complementary to those identified through our CRISPRi loss-of-function screen for your potential therapeutic. Utilize gain-of-function screening with the accuracy of a CRISPR guide system that’s been optimized and run by the CRISPR screening experts.

CRISPRa screening service

CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) screening provides the capacity to study gain of gene function to broaden the range of possible applications available for your drug discovery and development programs. By utilizing dead Cas9 (dCas9), which retains the ability to bind to DNA without being catalytically active, the modulation of gene expression can be achieved to provide a highly precise and sensitive gain-of-function screening solution.

In combination with CRISPRi screens, CRISPRa screening can reveal ‘switch’ like genes that display opposing effects when activated or inhibited in the presence of the drug of interest, bringing the prospect of unambiguous target discovery closer.

CRISPRa applications

Enabling you to:

• Study gain-of-function effects on a genome-wide scale
• Explore drug-gene interactions by studying gain-of-function phenotypes
• Validate loss-of-function effects with a reverse-function orthologous tool
• Combine with CRISPRi screening for network analysis
• Target non-protein coding regions (e.g. lncRNA)

Horizon’s CRISPRa platform

Our CRISPR activation screening platforms are based on our industry leading, highly sophisticated CRISPR KO screening platform. This CRISPRa screening platform has been optimized for more than 10 years with internal leading experts to provide a robust screening solution that offers the flexibility to fit your exact needs. The service offers:

• Both pooled lentiviral and arrayed synthetic reagent options
• Cell line(s) from a pre-optimized cell line list or cell line evaluation prior to the screen
• Human whole-genome CRISPRa library or custom designed sub-library
• Customizable screen design and readout options
• Next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics analysis with hit nominations
• Project timeline of 12-24 weeks

CRISPRa platform deliverables

• A list of genes of which inhibition/activation alters response to the compound of interest
• A final report containing experimental design, all raw & analyzed data and conclusions of the study