5-Azacytidine induced myogenesis in a differentiation defective cell line.

A differentiation defective cell line variant, the T984-15, has lost the capacity to differentiate myogenically. Following treatment with the hypomethylating agent 5-azacytidine, T984-15 cells were induced to differentiate into myogenic colonies containing fused myotubes. Myogenic colonies when cloned, maintained their ability to differentiate after prolonged culture in the absence of further 5-azacytidine treatment. These results indicate that 5-azacytidine treatment resulted in a stable alteration in the capacity of T984-15 cells to differentiate and suggests that the loss of myogenic potential may have occurred as a result of an epigenetic phenomenon rather than a somatic mutational event.