The quality and characteristics of the melanoma cells were determined by immunohistochemistry, on cytospin cells, using anti-cytokeratin (KL-1) (negative control), anti-S100 protein, anti-melanA/MART1 and anti-HMB-45/gp100 antibody staining as described in the Methods. The 15 human cell cultures obtained all stemmed from melanoma cells (data not shown). This evidence concerns the gene PMEL and melanoma.