Nature paper explores whole genome sequence of melanoma cell lines and samples

Nature published a new study in May by Hayward et al., showing that the genetic mutations in melanomas from hands and feet (acral) and internal surfaces (mucosal) are very different from mutations seen in skin melanomas.

The study was led by researchers at Melanoma Institute Australia, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, and The University of Sydney as part of the Australian Melanoma Genome Project.

Researchers explored 183 melanoma samples, including 15 melanoma cell lines. Cell lines came from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

CellBank Australia holds 15 melanoma cell lines from QIMR Berghofer. More than 100 melanoma cell lines are deposited at the facility or available locally from ECACC (Europe) and JCRB (Japan).

The vast majority of melanoma cell lines come from metastatic samples. In many cases the primary site of origin is unclear.

This study demonstrates the importance of establishing new cell lines from acral and mucosal melanomas, and reporting the primary site of origin in publications.

Some melanoma cell lines are known to be misidentified – for example, ICLAC reports that uveal melanoma cell lines OCM-3 and OCM-8 are actually derived from skin melanoma cell line SK-MEL-28.

Hayward et al. authenticated their cell lines by DNA profiling and this is an essential part of confirming that melanoma cell lines are reliable models for in-depth analysis.

For more information see:

• Hayward et al., 2017 | Nature website
• Cell Lines for distribution | CellBank Australia website
• ICLAC Register of Misidentified Cell Lines | ICLAC website