Nevospheres from neurocutaneous melanocytosis cells show reduced viability when treated with specific inhibitors of NRAS signaling pathway. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • BACKGROUND: Neurocutaneous melanocytosis (NCM) is characterized by clonal nevomelanocytic proliferations in the CNS and skin. Given the scarcity of effective therapeutic targets, testing new drugs requires a reliable and reproducible in vitro cellular model of the disease. METHODS: We generated nevomelanocytic spheroids in vitro from lesions of the spinal cord, brain, and skin from 4 NCM patients. Nevomelanocytic cells were grown as monolayers or spheroids and their growth characteristics were evaluated. Cultured cell identity was confirmed by demonstration of the same NRAS mutation found in the original lesions and by immunophenotyping. Nevomelanocytic spheroids were treated with inhibitors of specific mediators of the NRAS signaling pathway (vemurafenib, MEK162, GDC0941, and GSK2126458). Drug sensitivity and cell viability were assessed. RESULTS: Cultured cells were growth-factor dependent, grew as spheroids on Geltrex matrix, and maintained their clonogenicity in vitro over passages. Skin-derived cells formed more colonies than CNS-derived cells. Inhibitors of specific mediators of the NRAS signaling pathway reduced viability of NRAS mutated cells. The highest effect was obtained with GSK2126458, showing a viability reduction below 50%. CONCLUSIONS: NRAS mutated cells derived from clinical NCM samples are capable of continuous growth as spheroid colonies in vitro and retain their genetic identity. Drugs targeting the NRAS signaling pathway reduce in vitro viability of NCM cells. NCM lesional spheroids represent a new and reliable experimental model of NCM for use in drug testing and mechanistic studies.

publication date

  • September 9, 2015

Research

keywords

  • Apoptosis
  • Benzimidazoles
  • Brain Neoplasms
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases
  • Melanoma
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Skin Neoplasms
  • Spheroids, Cellular

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC4799680

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 84966539272

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1093/neuonc/nov184

PubMed ID

  • 26354928

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 18

issue

  • 4