Clontech Laboratories, Inc. Releases a New Powerful Delivery Technology for CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Gene Editing

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., today announced the launch of the Guide-it™ CRISPR/Cas9 Gesicle Production System. This system provides an innovative method to deliver Cas9/single guide RNA (sgRNA) ribonucleoprotein complexes to a broad range of cell types.

"While CRISPR/Cas9 is a great enabling technique for genome manipulation, two significant challenges remain: obtaining efficient delivery of Cas9 and gene-specific single guide RNA (sgRNA) to all cell types, and achieving fewer off-target effects," commented Carol Lou, President of Clontech Laboratories, Inc. "We have developed CRISPR/Cas9 gesicles in order to overcome these obstacles."

Gesicles are cell-derived nanovesicles that have been used to deliver macromolecular cargoes to a broad range of target cells, including cells that are difficult to transfect with plasmids. The nanovesicles are formed in a Gesicle Producer 293T Cell Line via co-overexpression of components including a nanovesicle-inducing glycoprotein and a protein that mediates binding and fusion with the cellular membrane of target cells. Simultaneous overexpression of additional macromolecular cargoes (in this case, the Cas9 protein and sgRNA) results in incorporation of the Cas9/sgRNA ribonucleoprotein complexes within the gesicles. Subsequent delivery of the Cas9/sgRNA complexes to target cells using gesicles is efficient and also eliminates the persistent and elevated expression that are associated with plasmid and viral delivery, leading to reduced off-target effects compared to other methods of Cas9 and sgRNA delivery.

To learn more about the Guide-it CRISPR/Cas9 Gesicle Production System and how it enables highly efficient gene editing with tight control over the dose and timing of Cas9/sgRNA delivery and gene editing, please visit www.clontech.com/Cas9-gesicles.

About Clontech Laboratories, Inc.

Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., develops, manufactures, and distributes a wide range of life science kits and reagents under the Takara®, Clontech®, and Cellartis® brands. Key products include SMARTer® cDNA synthesis kits for a variety of samples and applications, including NGS; high-performance qPCR and PCR reagents (including the TaKaRa Ex Taq®, TaKaRa LA Taq®, Titanium®, and Advantage® enzymes); Cellartis stem cells and stem cell reagents; RT enzymes and SMART® library construction kits; the innovative In-Fusion® cloning system; Guide-it™ gene editing tools; Tet-based inducible gene expression systems; Living Colors® fluorescent proteins; and a range of Macherey-Nagel nucleic acid purification tools. These and other products support applications including NGS; gene discovery, regulation, and function studies; protein expression and purification; RNAi, gene editing, and stem cell studies; and plant and food research. For more information, visit www.clontech.com.

About Takara Bio Inc.

Takara Bio Inc. is an innovative biotechnology company based in Shiga, Japan. As a world leader in biotechnology research and development, Takara Bio was the first company to market PCR technology in Japan and is also the developer of the RetroNectin® reagent, which is used as a world standard in gene therapy protocols. In addition to providing research reagents and equipment to the life science research market, Takara Bio has active research and product development activities in the fields of gene and cell-based therapy and agricultural biotechnology; and is committed to preventing disease and improving the quality of life for all people through the use of biotechnology. Through strategic alliances with other industry leaders, Takara Bio aims to extend its reach around the world. More information is available at www.takara-bio.com.

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SOURCE Clontech Laboratories, Inc.

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