Metabolic profiling of human melanoma cell lines with high and low metastatic capacity by 1 H-NMR spectroscopy

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Aldword

Melanoma is a highly aggressive skin cancer with elevated metastatic potential and mortality. Although metabolic reprogramming in melanoma is increasingly understood, the link between metabolic alterations and metastatic capacity remains incomplete. This study profiles human melanoma cell lines with high (HT168-M1) and low (WM983B) metastatic potential and compares them with normal human fibroblasts (MRC-5) to identify key metabolites and pathways.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Aim

Methods

Results

Conclusion

OPEN ACCESS Citation: Kakhki NR, Hegedűs Z, Tóvári J, Mirzahosseini A, Noszál B, Kraszni M (2026) Metabolic profiling of human melanoma cell lines with high and low metastatic capacity by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. PLoS One 21(7): e0352639. [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal). pone.0352639 Editor: Roy P. Planalp, University of New Hampshire, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Received: December 12, 2025 Accepted: June 11, 2026 Published: July 1, 2026 Copyright: © 2026 Kakhki et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data availability statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: This research was financially supported by the National Tumor Biology Laboratory under the National Laboratories Program RESEARCH ARTICLE Metabolic profiling of human melanoma cell lines with high and low metastatic capacity by 1 H-NMR spectroscopy Nima Rezvani Kakhki1,2, Zita Hegedűs3, József Tóvári4, Arash Mirzahosseini1,2, Béla Noszál1,2, Márta Kraszni1,2* 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, 2 Center for Pharmacology and Drug Research & Development, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, 3 National Korányi Institute of Pulmonology, Budapest, Hungary, 4 Department of Experimental Pharmacology and the National Tumor Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Oncology, Budapest, Hungary * [kraszni.marta@semmelweis.hu](kraszni.marta@semmelweis.hu) Abstract Background Melanoma is one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer due to its high metastatic potential and mortality rate. Although understanding of metabolic reprogramming in melanoma has advanced, the connection between metabolic alterations and metastatic capacity remains incomplete. Aim This study aimed to characterize the metabolic profiles of human melanoma cell lines with high (HT168-M1) and low (WM983B) metastatic potential, and to compare them with each other and also with the metabolic profile of normal human fibroblasts (MRC-5), in order to identify key metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with metastatic behavior. Methods Non-targeted metabolomic profiling using ¹ H-NMR spectroscopy was applied to hydrophilic extracts of the three cell lines. Multivariate statistical analyses (PCA and PLS-DA) were used to identify discriminating metabolites, and pathway analysis was performed to determine altered metabolic networks. Results Several metabolic pathways were significantly altered in melanoma cells compared to fibroblasts, including starch and sucrose metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, and glutathione metabolism. Metabolites showing more than twofold differences included elevated UDP-glucose, ATP, glycerophosphocholine, GTP, PLOS One | [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352639](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352639) July 1, 2026 1 / 21 (2022-2.1.1-NL-2022-00010), the Hungarian Thematic Excellence Program (TKP2021-EGA-44 to J.T. and TKP2021-EGA-24 to A.M.), and the National Research, Development and Innovation Office’s Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (NKFIH-OTKA) grants K147410 (J.T.) . The work was also funded by the New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund (ÚNKP-23-5-SE-1 to A. M.) ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[nkfih.gov.hu](nkfih.gov.hu)). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. creatine and glutathione in the melanoma cells, and reduced glucose, glutamine and 1-methylnicotinamide in fibroblasts. Compa

FAQs

What is the main goal of this study?

To characterize metabolic profiles of melanoma cell lines with high and low metastatic potential and compare them with normal fibroblasts to identify key metabolites and pathways related to metastatic behavior.

How were the metabolic profiles measured?

Non-targeted metabolomic profiling was performed on hydrophilic extracts using 1H-NMR spectroscopy, followed by multivariate statistics (PCA and PLS-DA) and pathway analysis.

What metabolic differences were observed between melanoma cells and fibroblasts?

Several pathways differed significantly, including starch and sucrose metabolism, alanine/aspartate/glutamate metabolism, and glutathione metabolism. Metabolites such as UDP-glucose, ATP, and glutathione-related signals were elevated in melanoma cells, while glucose, glutamine, and related compounds were reduced in fibroblasts.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Aldword