鷄胚 筋原細胞를 배양하면서 筋原細胞로부터 培養液으로 방출되는 물질을 분석함으로써 筋原細胞가 細胞融合 촉진물질을 분비하는지의 여부를 조사하였다. 근원세포의 배양에 한번 쓰인 배양액(muscle-conditioned medium, MCM)은 세포 융합 촉진효과를 가지고 있는 것으로 보아 근원세포로부터 세포용합 촉진물질이 배양액 내로 방출되는 것으로 보인다. 이 MCM의 단백질을 분석한 결과 분자량 약 175,000인 단백질이 배양액 내에서 분자량 약 145,000인 단백질로 분해되고, 이 분해된 단백질이 세포 융합 촉진 효과를 나타내는 것으로 생각된다.
In order to find out whether myoblast cells release into the culture medium any substances that induce or promote the fusion of myoblasts, chick embryonic myoblasts were cultured and the cultured medium (muscle-conditioned medium, MCM) was collected. The MCM was then added to the newly cultured myoblasts to examine if it has fusion-promoting activity. The MCM was also analyzed for its protein content before and after its addition to the second culture. The MCM apparently showed fusion-promoting activity when applied to unfused young myoblasts, suggesting that it contained substances that promote the fusion and that had been released from cells fo the previous culture. Analysis of proteins in the myoblasts and in the MCM suggested that the released protein was absorbed by or tightly bound to myoblasts of the second culture. One of the released proteins of about 175 kilodalton was degraded to a polypeptide of approximately 145 kilodalton, which appeared to act upon the membrane proteins of unfused myoblasts so as to stimulate their membrane to fuse with neighboring cells.
