Inhibition of chicken myogenesis invitro by partially purified interferon

Continuous treatment of cultured chicken myoblasts with partially purified chicken interferon (IFN) inhibited myotube formation and the expression of MM-creatine kinase (MM-CK) at day 3, followed by continued MM-CK inhibition and concomitant stimulation of BB-creatine kinase (BB-CK) at day 4. Inhibition of MM-CK was also seen in IFN-treated cells prevented from fusing with EGTA. The degree of inhibition at day 3 depended on IFN dose over a range of 2.5–250 international units (IU)/ml; there was no evidence of cytotoxicity. Thus, IFN appears to inhibit the expression of muscle-specific traits during myogenesis.