Growth of quail chondrocytes in the presence of retinoic acid (RA) results in the suppression of the differentiated phenotype. RA-treated chondrocytes recover their differentiated phenotype if they are cultured for an additional 15 days in the absence of RA. A few days after removal from RA, treated chondrocytes acquire the polygonal morphology characteristic of chondrocytes growing as attached cells; they also gradually resume collagen II expression and synthesize cultures. The levels of collagen X mRNA decrease during the second week of culture in the absence of RA. Finally, at the end of 15 days, the absolute levels of collagen II and collagen X mRNAs are very similar in control and recovering chondrocytes.