Proteomic profiling of melanoma progression

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive malignancies. It is the second most common tumor in patients at the ages of 20-35 with increased prevalence in western countries. Patient prognosis largely depends on the tumor stage upon diagnosis, which is determined based on the depth of the primary tumor, ulceration and metastases. To date, only a few studies profiled melanoma proteomes. Here we assembled a panel of nine cell lines, including two melanocyte cultures, two cell lines originating from primary tumors, and five cell lines from metastatic lesions. We identified in total more than 9,000 proteins, and identified the processes that change during melanoma progression.