AP-1 Responsive Luciferase Reporter HepG2 Stable Cell Line
The AP-1 Responsive Luciferase Reporter HepG2 Stable Cell Line is derived from human liver carcinoma cells and stably expresses the firefly luciferase reporter gene under the control of the AP-1 response element. This cell line serves as an ideal cellular model for monitoring the activation of JNK, ERK, and MAPK signaling pathways triggered by chemical stimuli, cytokines, enforced gene expression, or gene knockdown.
Signosis developed this cell line by transducing HepG2 cells with a plasmid containing both the AP-1 luciferase reporter and a hygromycin resistance cassette. Hygromycin-resistant clones were subsequently screened for PMA-induced luciferase activity to identify robust responders. The resulting stable cell line provides a reliable reporter system for evaluating AP-1 pathway activation by diverse stimuli, including TNF-α, IL-1, gene overexpression, and gene silencing.
 
Principle of Transcription Factor (TF) Luciferase Reporters
TF luciferase reporter stable cell lines utilize artificial promoter constructs to drive luciferase expression. These promoter regions can be designed with multiple repeats of a cis-element TF binding site, DNA fragments from promoter regions of known TF downstream genes, or DNA sequences containing putative or validated TF binding sites.
Transcription factors can be activated through extracellular stimuli or intracellular signaling cascades. Once activated, they translocate to the nucleus and often interact with co-factors to drive target gene expression. In reporter cell lines, this leads to luciferase expression. Upon enzymatic reaction, luciferase produces a luminescent signal, the intensity of which directly correlates with the level of TF activation.