T84 monolayers are superior to Caco-2 as a model system of colonocytes

Colonic adenocarcinoma-derived Caco-2 and T84 epithelial cell lines are frequently used as in vitro model systems of functional epithelial barriers. Both are utilised interchangeably despite evidence that differentiated Caco-2 cells are more reminiscent of small intestinal enterocytes than of colonocytes, whereas differentiated T84 cells are less well characterised. The aim of this study was, therefore, to further characterise and compare differentiated Caco-2 and T84 cells. The objectives were to (1) compare the brush border morphology, (2) measure the expression of enterocyte- and colonocyte-specific genes and (3) compare their response to butyrate, which is dependent on the monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1), an apical protein expressed primarily in colonocytes. T84 microvilli were significantly shorter than those of Caco-2 cells, which is a characteristic difference between small intestinal enterocytes and colonocytes. Also, enterocyte-associated brush border enzymes expressed in differentiated Caco-2 cells were not increased during T84 maturation, whereas colonic markers such as MCT1 were more abundant in differentiated T84 cells compared to differentiated Caco-2 cells. Consequently, T84 cells displayed a dose-responsive improvement of barrier function towards butyrate, which was absent in Caco-2 cells. On the other hand, differences in epithelial toll-like receptor expression between Caco-2 and T84 monolayers did not result in a corresponding differential functional response. We conclude that differentiated Caco-2 and T84 cells have distinct morphological, biochemical and functional characteristics, suggesting that T84 cells do not acquire the biochemical signature of mature small intestinal enterocytes like Caco-2 cells, but retain much of their original colonic characteristics throughout differentiation. These findings can help investigators select the appropriate intestinal epithelial cell line for specific in vitro research purposes.