CRISPR/Cas9-mediated generation of niemann–pick C1 knockout cell line

Abstract

Generating a cholesterol storage phenotype of Niemann–Pick Type C (NPC) disease is important for investigating the mechanisms of intracellular cholesterol trafficking, as well as screening drugs for potential treatment of NPC disease. The use of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to knockout specific genes within the genome of mammals has become routine in the past few years. Here, we describe a protocol for producing a cellular NPC cholesterol storage phenotype in HeLa cells using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to disrupt the NPC1 gene. The protocol details the steps for single guide RNA oligo cloning, cell colony selection, and cell line verification by filipin staining and immunoblotting.