Next-generation Cas9 enzymes deliver maximum CRISPR editing efficiency

TrueCut Cas9 proteins are designed to deliver consistently high CRISPR editing efficiency across a range of gene targets and cell types. TrueCut Cas9 proteins must be combined with a guide RNA (gRNA) to produce a functional, target-specific editing complex. These Cas9 protein-gRNA complexes bypass transcription and translation steps, therefore increasing editing efficiency.
 

Cas9 protein selection guide

Invitrogen TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 tube and box

TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2
 

Next-generation wild-type Cas9 protein designed to deliver maximum CRISPR editing efficiency

Intended usage:
Most CRISPR research applications, including editing of stem and primary cells

Order now
 

Invitrogen TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein tube and box

TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein
 

Cas9 variant engineered for improved specificity while maintaining high efficiency
 

Intended usage:
CRISPR experiments that require precise editing or are sensitive to off-target effects

Order now
 

Gibco CTS TrueCut Cas9 Protein bottle and box

CTS TrueCut Cas9 Protein & CTS HiFi Cas9 Protein
 

Wild-type and high-fidelity Cas9 proteins manufactured to more stringent specifications required in clinical development

Intended usage:
Clinical research and applications

Learn more
 

TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 for high CRISPR editing efficiency

TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 is a next-generation wild-type Cas9 protein designed to deliver maximum CRISPR editing efficiency.

  • Exceptional editing efficiency—Consistently high on-target editing efficiency in all tested cell lines, including standard, primary, stem, and immune cells (>90% editing in T cells)
  • Superior performance—Up to 2x higher editing efficiency in difficult targets vs the competition
  • High quality—Manufactured with ISO 13485-certified Quality Management System
     

TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 sample data

CRISPR gene editing with TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 achieved robust editing efficiencies in human primary T cells with functional knockout up to 90%.

Multiple graphs showing gene knockout efficiency in T cells transfected with TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and TrueGuide gRNA for two genes

Figure 1. T-cell receptor knockout using TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and TrueGuide synthetic gRNAs. Human primary T cells were transfected with TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and TrueGuide Synthetic gRNA for T cell receptor alpha (TRAC) or beta (TRBC) regions using the Neon Transfection System. Editing efficiency was measured by (A) the GeneArt Cleavage Detection Assay, and (B) measuring % T cell receptor-negative (TCR) cells using the Attune NxT Flow Cytometer. By both measures, knockout efficiency exceeded 90% for TRAC and 80% for TRBC.



TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 consistently performs across genes and cell lines.

Three bar graphs showing the efficiency of gene editing in cancer cell lines transfected with TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and TrueGuide Synthetic gRNAs for three genes

Figure 2. Robust editing efficiencies in cancer cells. TrueGuide Synthetic gRNAs for three genes plus negative control were complexed with TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2; the RNP complexes were delivered into A549, U2OS, or MDA-MB231 cells using Lipofectamine CRISPRMAX Cas9 Transfection Reagent. At 72 hours post-transfection, cells were harvested and tested for cleavage efficiency (indel %) using either the GeneArt Genomic Cleavage Detection Assay (GCD) or Ion Torrent Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Cleavage efficiency was high across all genes and cell lines tested.

Two-panel bar graphs showing high TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 editing efficiency when using either lipid transfection or electroporation.

Figure 3. Consistent CRISPR editing efficiency across cell types and delivery methods. Four representative cell types including adherent cell lines (A549, HepG2), suspension cells (THP1), and primary immune cells (primary human T cells) were transfected via CRISPRMAX reagent or Neon electroporation system. RNP complexes comprised TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and TrueGuide positive or negative control sgRNA. Editing efficiency was high for TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 across all cell types and methods tested.

TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 consistently delivered up to two-fold higher gene editing efficiency compared to competitor Cas9 enzymes.

Two bar graphs comparing CRISPR editing efficiency between TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and a Cas9 protein from another supplier


Figure 4. Invitrogen Cas9 compared to other Cas9 enzymes. Genome editing was performed with TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and corresponding TrueGuide Synthetic gRNAs. Complexes were delivered using optimized transfection protocols and Lipofectamine CRISPRMAX Transfection Reagent in (A) A549 and (B) MDA-MB231 cell lines. Cleavage efficiency was consistently greater with the Invitrogen system compared to products and protocols from other suppliers, even for challenging loci like PRKCG-T1 and CMPK1-T1.
 



TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein for reduced off-target effects

Because the CRISPR-Cas9 system tolerates some base pair mismatches within the target and PAM site, your genome editing experiment may result in off-target effects—unintended cleavage at other sites within the gene. These off-target effects can affect phenotypes, so it is important to monitor and minimize them.

TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein improves specificity by significantly reducing off-target effects while maintaining high CRISPR editing efficiency. This high-fidelity Cas9 enzyme contains point mutations that destabilize interactions between Cas9 and target DNA, making it less likely to bind to non-complementary (off-target) sequences. TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein is suitable for applications that are especially sensitive to off-target effects.

  • Improved specificity—Significantly reduces off-target effects in a broad range of cell types including standard, primary, stem, and immune cells
  • High editing efficiency—Preserves high on-target editing efficiency relative to TrueCut Cas9 v2 (wild type)
  • High quality—Manufactured with ISO 13485-certified Quality Management System

 

TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein sample data

The fidelity (specificity, or minimization of off-target effects) and editing efficiency (percentage of on-target edits) of TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein was assessed against TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and a competitor's high fidelity Cas9.  TrueCut HiFi Cas9 demonstrated superior ability to reduce measurable off-target edits.

For more detailed data including examples of both problematic and non-problematic loci, see our application note.
 

Superior off-target performance with TrueCut HiFi Cas9 compared to competition
Scatter plot and bar graph depicting off-target effects in primary T cells transfected with wt-Cas9, high-fidelity Cas9 from another supplier, or TrueCut HiFi Cas9 protein

Figure 5. TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein demonstrated superior off-target profiles in human primary T cells. 21 gRNAs were co-transfected with wild-type TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2, TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein, and another supplier's HiFi Cas9 using the Neon Transfection System. Target-enriched GUIDE-Seq (TEG-Seq), an Ion Torrent-adapted NGS method, was used for off-target detection. (A) The red dots are on-target events normalized to 100%. Gray dots are off-target events plotted against the corresponding off-target to on-target ratio, which represents the risk probability of each off-target event. (B) Bars represent the number and severity of off-target edits according to off-target/on-target ratio level. Compared to wild-type TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and the competitor’s HiFi Cas9, TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein produced far fewer off-target effects at all severity levels.

In the same experiment, the on-target editing efficiency of TrueCut HiFi Cas9 equaled or exceeded that observed with the competitor’s high-fidelity Cas9, while also producing far fewer off-target effects.

Bar graph comparing on-target indel and HDR activity among wild-type Cas9, another supplier’s high-fidelity Cas9 protein, and TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein

Figure 6. TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein maintained >80% on-target editing efficiency in human primary T cells. On-target activity in T cells, including indels and homology-directed repairs (HDRs), was evaluated using a subset of 11 gRNAs that had the fewest off-target edits. Ion Torrent NGS-based Targeted Amplicon-seq was used for screening. Normalized to 100% for TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2, TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein achieved 84% and 88% editing efficiency for indels and HDRs, respectively.

In induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), TrueCut HiFi Cas9 generated fewer off-target edits and had lower off/on ratios for individual off-targets than wt-Cas9 and the competitor’s high-fidelity Cas9. At the same time, TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein maintained high on-target editing activity with all gRNAs tested.

A
Better specificity in iPSCs with TrueCut HiFi Cas9 compared to competition
B
TrueCut HiFi Cas9 maintained higher on-target editing efficiency in human iPSCs compared to competition

Figure 7. TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein demonstrated superior off-target profiles while maintaining high on-target editing efficiency in iPSCs.(A) The bar graphs show RPMs for on- and off-targets for the three genes in which off-targets were detected. TrueCut HiFi Cas9 achieved equivalent on-target efficiency and higher fidelity than that of wt-Cas9 and the competitor’s high-fidelity Cas9. (B) For both BCL11A and HBB1, the percentage of successful indels and HDRs achieved by TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein was comparable to both wild-type TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2 and the competitor’s HiFi Cas9.



Gibco CTS Cas9 proteins for cell therapy applications

For translational research to clinical settings, high-quality cell therapy ancillary materials and documentation are critical. Gibco Cell Therapy Systems (CTS) Cas9 proteins are designed and manufactured to stringent specifications to support your cell therapy development efforts.

Learn more about CTS Cas9 proteins
 

Order Cas9 proteins for research

Order Cas9 proteins here or use our TrueDesign Genome Editor to design and order materials for your entire gene editing experiment.

TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2

TrueCut HiFi Cas9 Protein

Intended use of the products mentioned on this page varies. For specific intended use statements, please refer to the product label.