The P19 line was derived form an embryonal carcinoma induced in a C3H/He mouse. The line can be cloned at high efficiency in medium containing 0.1 mM 2-mercaptoethanol. The cells are pluripotential. The cell can be induced to differentiate into neural and glial like cells in the presence of 500 nM retinoic acid. In the presence of 0.5% to 1.0% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) the cells differentiate to form cardiac and skeletal muscle-like elements, but do not form neural or glial like cells. In the presence of both DMSO and retinoic acid, the cells differentiate as in the presence of retinoic acid alone. The species was confirmed by Real-Time PCR.