Human Caco-2 cells transfected with c-Ha-Ras as a model for endocrine differentiation in the large intestine

Endocrine cells occur in approximately 30% of all colorectal adenocarcinomas, and this feature appears to correlate with a relatively poor prognosis. To study the factors regulating endocrine differentiation in colorectal cancer, which may bear resemblance to the regulation of endocrine differentiation in normal intestinal mucosa, models in which differentiation can be manipulated are essential. However, endocrine features in colorectal cancer cell lines are scarce and are almost exclusively observed in xenografts, presumably as a result of differentiation induction by stromal components. We attempted to demonstrate endocrine differentiation in the colonic adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2, which is frequently used as a model for enterocytic differentiation. In vitro endocrine tumor cells were not encountered. In vivo studies were cumbersome, because of the low take rate of Caco-2 cells. We did manage to establish nude mouse xenografts of Caco-2 cells by inoculating cells in collagen gel and by suppressing natural killer cell activity. In an attempt to induce a better take rate and to investigate the effect of Ras oncoprotein overexpression on endocrine differentiation, Caco-2 cells were transfected with a point-mutated c-Ha-Ras gene. The cell line Caco-2 EJ6, generated from these experiments, could be xenografted in nude mice with a high take rate, yielding a moderately well differentiated adenocarcinoma, morphologically identical to the tumors derived from untransfected Caco-2 cells. The xenografts displayed goblet cell, enterocytic, Paneth cell and endocrine differentiation. In vitro endocrine differentiation was observed neither under standard conditions nor with extracellular matrix components as differentiation inducers. We conclude that the Caco-2 cell line and its c-Ha-Ras transfected subline Caco-2 EJ6 in vivo display endocrine differentiation. Ras overexpression does not enhance endocrine differentiation. Due to its favorable growth properties in vivo, Caco-2 EJ6 is a suitable model for studies on endocrine differentiation in colorectal cancer.