It is now well-recognized that the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade facilitates signaling from an activated tyrosine kinase receptor to the nucleus. In fact, an increasing number of extracellular effectors have been reported to activate the MAP kinase cascade, with a significant number of cellular responses attributed to this activation. We set out to explore how two extracellular effectors, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which have both been reported to activate MAP kinase, generate quite distinct cellular responses in C2C12 myoblasts. We demonstrate here that bFGF, which is both a potent mitogen and inhibitor of myogenic differentiation, is a strong MAP kinase agonist. By contrast, IGF-1, which is equally mitogenic for C2C12 cells but ultimately enhances the differentiated phenotype, is a weak activator of the MAP kinase cascade. We further demonstrate that IGF-1 is a potent activator of both insulin receptor substrate IRS-1 tyrosyl phosphorylation and association of IRS-1 with activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase). Finally, use of the specific MAP kinase kinase inhibitor, PD098059, and wortmannin, a PI 3-kinase inhibitor, suggests the existence of an IGF-1-induced, MAP kinase-independent signaling event which contributes to the mitogenic response of this factor, whereas bFGF-induced mitogenesis appears to strongly correlate with activation of the MAP kinase cascade.