We provide novel evidence that human melanoma cell lines (M10, M14, SK-MEL28, SK-MEL93, 243MEL, 1074MEL, OCM-1, and COLO38) expressed, at mRNA and protein levels, either Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) or cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) and its phosphorylated form. Normal human melanocytes contained the lowest levels of both PLA2s. Cyclooxygenase-1 and-2 (COX-1 and COX-2) were also expressed in cultured tumor cells as measured by Western blots. The most pronounced overexpression of iPLA2 ...