Approaches to prove the melanoma origin in amelanotic human melanoma cell lines.
The human melanoma B-HM8 cell line was derived from highly pigmented malignant skin melanoma. After 5 weeks of cultivation it entirely lost the pigmentation and has remained amelanotic since. Electron microscopy revealed neither premelanosomes nor melanosomes and the cells did not release detectable amount of dopa-oxidase activity into culture medium. Immunocytochemical studies using the polyclonal anti-S-100 antibody and detection of alpha-mannosidase activity in culture medium proved the melanoma origin of B-HM8 cells. Chromosomal changes in the karyotype of these cells were typical for human melanoma with chromosomes No. 1, 5, 7, 9, and 11 involved most frequently.
Blasko
M
M
Department of Cytogenetics and Tumor Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Chalupa
I
I
Borovanský
J
J
Toceková
M
M
Siracký
J
J
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D018328:Melanoma, Amelanotic / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm