Calmodulin content and distribution in six human melanoma cell lines

Calmodulin content and distribution between soluble and particulate fractions were determined by radioimmunoassay in six human melanoma cell lines exhibiting differences in tumor origin (primary or metastatic), degree of tumorigenicity and of pigmentation (amelanotic or melanotic). The results indicate that a) total, soluble and particulate calmodulin levels expressed as ng/10(6) cells or ng/micrograms of proteins remained constant for five out of six cell lines when cells grew from subconfluency to confluency. For IGR 37 line, derived from metastatic melanoma, the calmodulin content decreases from 2.39 to 1.27 ng/micrograms protein for total calmodulin, from 2.17 to 1.52 ng/micrograms protein for soluble calmodulin and from 2.61 to 1.02 ng/micrograms protein for particulate calmodulin, b) total, soluble and particulate calmodulin levels expressed as ng/microgram proteins were twofold (at confluency) to fourfold (at subconfluency) higher in the two cell lines from metastatic origin, IGR 37 and IPC 167. As for example, for total calmodulin, values in IGR 37 and IPC 167 cell lines, were, respectively at subconfluency, 2.39 and 2.31 ng/micrograms protein as compared with the four other cell lines: 0.76 to 0.96 ng/micrograms protein and at confluency: 1.27 and 1.98 ng/micrograms protein as compared with the four other cell lines: 0.76 to 0.90 ng/micrograms protein, c) ratio of calmodulin between soluble and particulate fractions was about 1 for the two autologous cell lines IGR 37 and IGR 39 and varies from 2 to 3 for the four other cell lines.