AbstractGroup II phospholipase A2 (PLA2) myotoxins isolated from Viperidae/Crotalidae snake venoms induce a rapid cytolytic effect upon diverse cell types in vitro. Previous studies suggested that this effect could be more pronounced on skeletal muscle myotubes than on other cell types, including undifferentiated myoblasts. This study utilized the murine skeletal muscle C2C12 cell line to investigate whether differentiated myotubes are more susceptible than myoblasts, and if this characteristic is specific for the group II myotoxic PLA2s. The release of lactic dehydrogenase was quantified as a measure of cytolysis, 3 h after cell exposure to different group II PLA2s purified from Bothrops asper, Atropoides nummifer, Cerrophidion godmani, and Bothriechis schlegelii venoms. In addition, susceptibility to lysis induced by synthetic melittin and group III PLA2 from bee (Apis mellifera) venom, as well as by anionic, cationic, and neutral detergents, was comparatively evaluated on the two cultures. Myotubes were significantly more susceptible to group II PLA2 myotoxins, but not to the other agents tested, under the same conditions. Moreover, the increased susceptibility of myotubes over myoblasts was also demonstrated with two cytolytic synthetic peptides, derived from the C‐terminal region of Lys49 PLA2 myotoxins, that reproduce the action of their parent proteins. These results indicate that fusion and differentiation of myoblasts into myotubes induce changes that render these cells more susceptible to the toxic mechanism of group II PLA2 myotoxins, but not to general perturbations of membrane homeostasis. Such changes are likely to involve myotoxin acceptor site(s), which remain(s) to be identified. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.