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Muscle cell migration plays an important role in the incorporation of transplanted myoblasts in muscle fibers. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the high migration capacity of the C₂C₁₂ myoblast cell line may help to develop approaches to improve the migration of normal myoblasts and consequently to increase their participation to the host myofiber regeneration. We have previously shown that matrix metalloproteinases are implicated in the in vivo migration of C₂C₁₂. Here, we studied the role of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) in this process. The expression of uPA mRNA and the enzymatic activity of uPA were studied in both normal myoblasts and the C₂C₁₂ myoblast cell line. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that uPA mRNA was more strongly expressed in C₂C₁₂ cells than in normal myoblasts. The enzymatic activity of secreted uPA analyzed by casein …