P19 cell

Indeed, exposing aggregated P19 cells to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) induces differentiation into cardiac and skeletal muscle.

In 1982, McBurney and Rogers transplanted a 7.5 day mouse embryo into the testis to induce tumor growth.

[1] The two most common and effective drugs are retinoic acid (RA) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).

[10] Moreover, signaling pathways related to neurogenesis and myogenesis were also investigated by studying gene expression or generating mutants of P19 cells.

Several neuronal markers such as neurofilament proteins, HNK-1 antigen and tetanus toxin binding sites are expressed at highest levels during these days.

[11] After six to nine days of treatment, the relative neuronal population declines, likely because of faster proliferation of non-neuronal cells.

Other than into neurons and astrocytes, P19 cells can also differentiate to oligodendrocytes, which can be detected using the specific markers, myelin-associated glycoprotein and 2',3'-Cyclic-nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase.

Moreover, oligodendrocytes also developed and migrated into fiber bundles in mice when the RA-induced cells were transplanted into the brains.

Since cells after retinoic acid treatment did not immediately express neuronal marker genes, RA must initiate some pathway to process cellular differentiation.

[13][14] All of these studies indicate that the P19 cell is a good in vitro model system for investigating the mechanism of drugs that interfere with specific cellular pathway.

Furthermore, by using the ability of RA-induced neurogenesis in P19 cell, many researchers started to identify the in vitro differentiation mechanisms of neuro- or gliogenesis.

[6] In order to elucidate the mechanism of myogenesis in P19 cells, several cardiac specific transcription factors including GATA-4, MEF2c, Msx-1, Nkx2.5, MHox, Msx-2 and MLP are found to change during differentiation.