Abstract： Objective To investigate the feasibility of induced transformation of cardiomyocytes from amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AFMSCs).Methods AFMSCs isolated from amniotic fluid of pregnant New Zealand rabbits were cultured,and those with positive expression of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) were divided into experiment group and control group.The experiment group was induce by 5-azacytidine for 24 h,and the control group was added with equal volume of phosphatebuffered solution (PBS).At 1,2,3 and 4 weeks after the treatment,the mRNA expression of cardiacspecific transcription factor GATA4 mRNA was assayed by real-time PCR,and the expression of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) was detected by Western blotting.Results At 1,2 and 3 weeks after treatment with 5-azacytidine,there were no differences in expression of GATA4 mRNA and cTnT between the experiment group and control group (allP＞0.05).However,at week 4,the expression of GATA4 mRNA (4.102±1.203 vs 2.230± 1.010) and cTnT (0.89±0.06 vs 0.74±0.09) in experiment group increased significantly compared with the control group (both P＜0.05).Conclusion AFMSC exhibits the characteristics of pluripotent stem cells,and may be differentiated to myocardial cells after induced with 5-azacytidine.