Suspension Culture of a Pigment-Producing Cell Line Derived From a Human Malignant Melanoma2

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Abstract
A line of pigment-producing cells (SK-Mel 1) from a human malignant melanoma was established in culture and continued to produce large amounts of brown pigment 15 months after the initial explantation. The culture was initiated with cells obtained from the thoracic duct. This melanoma line resembles cultures derived from leukemics and Burkitt's lymphoma in that the cells grow free in the medium without attaching to the glass surface on which they rest. Electron microscopy of SK-Mel 1 cells showed pigmented granules relating in part to pigment synthesis and in part to pigment phagocytosis. Inoculation of the cultured cells into the cheek pouch of a cortisone-treated hamster gave rise to a pigment-producing tumor. By means of the immunofluorescence technique, antibody to the SK-Mel 1 line was detected in 63% of sera from patients with malignant melanoma and in 10% of sera from patients with other diseases, both neoplastic and non-neoplastic.

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