We reported previously (S. L. Rogers, P. J. Gegick, S. M. Alexander, and P. G. McGuire, Dev. Biol. 151, 191-203, 1992) that transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF beta 1) inhibited proliferation, up-regulated fibronectin synthesis, and suppressed melanogenesis in a population of quail neural crest cells in vitro. Here, we report that cell lines derived from the parent SK-N-SH neuroblastoma line (R. A. Ross, B. A. Spengler, and J. L. Biedler, J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 71, 741-747, 1983) respond differentially to TGF beta 1, and their responses provide further insights into the actions of this growth factor on neural crest subpopulations. The SH-EP cell line exhibits primarily nonneuronal traits and responded to TGF beta 1 with increased thymidine uptake after 6 days of culture, increased expression of fibronectin mRNA and protein, and decreased laminin synthesis. Many SH-EP cells also acquired a dramatically elongated morphology, reminiscent of Schwann cells in culture. Thymidine uptake by the neuronal SY5Y cell line was not substantially altered. Neither fibronectin mRNA nor protein was detectable in either TGF beta 1-treated or untreated cultures, although laminin synthesis was upregulated by the growth factor. In TGF beta 1-treated cultures of the intermediate SH-IN cell line, which has been reported to display both neuronal and nonneuronal characteristics, there was marked flattening of many cells, a steady decrease in thymidine uptake, and increased expression of both fibronectin and laminin. The observed responses of SH-IN cells mimic those observed in primary neural crest cultures and appear to represent similar differentiation toward a mesenchymal phenotype. These results substantiate the idea that closely related but diverging neural crest-derived cell types respond selectively to TGF beta 1 and demonstrate that these SK-N-SH-derived cell lines will be useful in experimental approaches that will allow us to infer mechanisms underlying regulation of neural crest differentiation.