WM2044 Viable Cells

Cells are sterile, validated by short tandem repeat profiling, and are tested as negative for mycoplasma. It is recommended that cell lines are tested for mycoplasma contamination and short tandem repeat (STR) profiling every 10 passages or each time a frozen seed stock is made. See cell culture protocol for additional details. WM2044 is a metastatic human melanoma cell line that displays mesenchymal morphology. These cells require insulin for growth in culture. This cell line features the specific V600E (Val600Glu) mutation at codon 600 in the BRAF gene. This mutation causes constitutively active kinase activity and activation of MEK and ERK signaling pathway. This cell line also expresses PTEN loss of function including hemizygous deletion, and is wild type for N-RAS, c-KIT, and CDK4. WM2044 cells produce xenograft tumors when injected into immunocompromised mice.