Abstract
Correlation of cell fusion with other muscle specific functions observed in vivo and in vitro has suggested the possibility that the fusion process itself might be involved in the mechanism of controlled expression of differentiated function. In order to test this possibility in primary cultures of fetal calf myoblasts, we have established conditions of Ca 2+ depletion which block cell fusion. Under these conditions, three separate markers of muscle specific differentiation were measured: creatine phosphokinase, a soluble enzyme; myosin heavy chain, a component of the contractile apparatus; and acetylcholine receptor, an integral membrane protein. The data indicate that the expression of the three functions studied is independent of the fusion process, and therefore that cell fusion plays no major role in the switch on of differentiated gene expression.
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