CELL LINES
Contributor Information
- Name Dorothy Bennett
- Institute St George's University of London
- Primary citation Bennett et al. 1987. Int J Cancer. 39(3):414-8. PMID: 3102392
Tool Details
- Tool name: Melan-a Cell Line
- Alternate names: Melan-a Mouse Melanocyte Cell Line
- Tool type: Cell Lines
- Tool sub-type: Continuous
- Parental cell line: Mouse melanoblasts
- Organism: Mouse
- Tissue: Embryonic skin
- Cancer type: Skin cancer; Melanoma
- Model: Immortalised line; Non-tumorigenic in syngeneic and nude mice
- CRISPR: No
- Conditional: Yes
- Application: Cell culture; Melanocyte biology studies
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Description: The melan-a cell line is an immortal melanocyte cell line derived from embryonic mouse skin. It was the first established non-tumorigenic mouse melanocyte cell line and has become a widely used model for melanocytes studies. Melanocytes are pigment-producing cells located in the bottom layer of the skin's epidermis and in other tissues. Melanoma arises from these pigment-producing cells and is a highly malignant form of skin cancer, accounting for three-quarters of skin cancer-related deaths.
Melan-a cells display the pigmentation and morphology typical of normal melanocytes, expressing both gp100 and the melanocyte marker Melan-A. They are diploid in chromosome number and syngenetic with C57BL mice and B16 melanoma sublines, facilitating comparative investigations. These cells are visibly pigmented, smaller than B16 melanoma cells and retain all tested characteristics of normal melanocytes, except senescence. Among retained features, they also display a proliferative response to cholera toxin in the presence of tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate (TPA).
The availability of robust cellular models that reflect normal skin melanocytes, such as the melan-a cell line, is essential for studying the etiology and abnormalities of malignant melanomas, allowing for molecular and cellular comparisons. - Research area: Cancer ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Type or Organelle Marker ; Developmental Biology ; Drug Discovery & Development
- Production details: Derived from normal epidermal melanoblasts from trunk skin of embryonic day 18 C57BL mice, a black or nonagouti (a/a) mouse
- Cellosaurus ID: CVCL_4624
- For Research Use Only
Target Details
Application Details
- Application: Cell culture; Melanocyte biology studies
Handling
- Format: Frozen
- Growth medium: RPMI-1640, 10% FBS, 200 nM phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (TPA)
- Temperature: 37C
- Atmosphere: 5% CO2
- Volume: 1 ml
- Storage medium: RPMI-1640 medium with 10%FBS and 10% DMSO using a slow freeze Mr.Frosty container
- Storage conditions: Liquid Nitrogen
- Shipping conditions: Dry ice
- Mycoplasma free: Yes
- Biosafety level: 1
Documentation
Related Tools
References
- • Schadendorf et. al. 2018. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 392(10151): 971-984. PMID: 30238891
- • Bennett et al. 1987. Int J Cancer. 39(3):414-418. PMID: 3102392.
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