Mucosal melanoma represents one of the most highly metastatic and aggressive subtypes of melanoma. The biology of mucosal melanoma is poorly documented, and the lack of experimental models makes it difficult to design and test new therapies. Dogs are frequently affected by melanomas of the oral cavity, making spontaneous canine melanoma a potentially predictable model for their human counterpart. We recently established and characterized two new canine mucosal melanoma cell lines named OCR_OCMM1 and OCR_OCMM2. Here, we identified quiescent cancer stem cell (CSC) subpopulations in both canine cell lines that displayed similarities to human quiescent CSCs: canine melanoma CSCs had the ability to self-renew, produced nonstem cell (SC) progeny, and formed melanospheres that recapitulated the phenotypic profile of the parental tumor. These CSCs also formed melanoma in immunodeficient mice, and the inhibition of PI3K/AKT signaling expanded the CSC pool. A subset of non-CSCs transitioned to become CSCs. OCR_OCMM1 and OCR_OCMM2 displayed different CSC compartment behaviors in regard to their initial size and expansion abilities. Collectively, this study showed that the OCR_OCMM1 and OCR_OCMM2 canine melanoma cell lines are powerful cellular tools to study melanoma SCs, not only for mucosal but also for the more common human cutaneous melanoma.
Keywords: comparative oncology; melanoma; stem cells.