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The excretory-secretory products (ESP) released by muscle stage of Trichinella spiralis have been suggested to be involved in nurse cell formation. However, the molecular mechanisms by which ESP modulate nurse cell formation remain unclear. In the present study, the ability of ESP of muscle larvae of T. spiralis (ML-ESP) to influence the proliferation and differentiation of murine myoblasts and the mechanisms were evaluated in vitro using C2C12 myoblast cell line, which were incubated for various times under grow or differentiation culture medium containing various concentrations of ML-ESP. The results indicated that ML-ESP promoted myoblast proliferation in a dose-dependent manner and increased the expression of the cell-cycle regulator cyclin D1 as well as that of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Conversely, ML-ESP inhibited the differentiation of these cells, which was evidenced by a reduction in the levels of MHC and MRFs expression (MyoD and myogenin) as well as that of p21. In addition, ML-ESP also inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in differentiating C2C12 myoblast. Taken together, these results imply that certain critical mediators contained in ML-ESP inhibit myogenesis through enhancing skeletal myoblasts proliferation and down-regulating the expression of MRFs as well as involving p38 MAPK signalling pathway, which provides insight into the mechanisms utilised by T. spiralis to interfere normal wound repair in infected muscle cells and affect nurse cell formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]