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Background: To test and introduce effective and less toxic breast cancer (BC) treatment strategies, animal models, including murine BC cell lines, are considered as perfect platforms. Strikingly, the knowledge on the genetic background of applied BC cell lines is often sparse though urgently necessary for their targeted and really justified application. Methods: In this study, we performed the first molecular cytogenetic characterization for three murine BC cell lines C-127I, EMT6/P and TA3 Hauschka. Besides fluorescence in situ hybridization-banding, array comparative genomic hybridization was also applied. Thus, overall, an in silico translation for the detected imbalances and chromosomal break events in the murine cell lines to the corresponding homologous imbalances in humans could be provided. The latter enabled a comparison of the murine cell line with human BC cytogenomics. Results: All three BC cell lines showed a rearranged karyotype at different stages of complexity, which can be interpreted carefully as reflectance of more or less advanced tumor stages. Conclusions: Accordingly, the C-127I cell line would represent the late stage BC while the cell lines EMT6/P and TA3 Hauschka would be models for the premalignant or early BC stage and an early or benign BC, respectively. With this cytogenomic information provided, these cell lines now can be applied really adequately in future research studies.

In melanoma, one of the most aggressive human tumors, early diagnosis is still the best strategy to increase survival rates. C57/B1 and B16-F0 are murine cell lines frequently applied in basic and applied melanoma research. Thus, it is striking, that cytogenomic features of these two cell lines are not known yet. In the present study, molecular cytogenetics and array-comparative genomic hybridization were done in C57/B1 and B16-F0 cells and the resulting imbalances and breakpoints were translated into the human genome. Both cell lines derived from each other and had an isochromosome 12 and a balanced translocation of chromosomes 3 and 13 in common. Interestingly, both cell lines presented aberrations which were also observed in human skin but not in human eye or uveal melanoma.