WM3406 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. WM3406 is a human metastatic melanoma cell line that displays a mesenchymal morphology. This cell line contains a Q61K mutation at position 61 in the N-RAS gene which causes increased signaling via the extracellular signal-regulated MAPK/ERK kinase pathways to enhance proliferation. This cell line also expresses mutated PTEN gene and is wild type for BRAF, c-KIT and CDK4. WM3406 cells produce xenograft tumors when injected into immunocompromised mice.