Generation of an EFNB2-2A-mCherry reporter human embryonic stem cell line using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated site-specific homologous recombination.

Abstract Ephrin B2 (EFNB2) is the first identified and most widely used marker for arterial endothelial cells (AECs). We generated a heterozygous EFNB2-2A-mCherry reporter H1 cell line, H1-EFNB2-2A-mCherry+/− (WAe001-A-57), by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated insertion of 2A-mCherry cassette into the EFNB2 gene locus, immediately before the translation stop codon. The H1-EFNB2-2A-mCherry reporter cells were pluripotent and could differentiate into all three germ layer lineages. Simultaneous expression of mCherry was observed when expression of EFNB2 was increased during endothelial cell differentiation. Thus, the generated reporter cells enable live identification of EFNB2-positive AECs, and screening of small molecule compound and target genes that promote AEC differentiation.