Differential expression and function of PACAP and VIP receptors in four human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines

Human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines have conserved several features of the native tissue. Among these is the expression of cell surface receptors for hormones and neurotransmitters that may be involved in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation processes in these cancer cells. Here, we confirm that high-affinity binding sites for the Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP) and for the VIP analogue Pituitary Adenylate-Cyclase Activating Polypeptide (PACAP), were expressed in 4 human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines, HT29, SW403, DLD-1 and Caco-2, that spontaneously displayed variable phenotypic properties in culture. We demonstrated that after long-term treatments, VIP and PACAP significantly reduced cell proliferation in the 4 cell lines and modulated intracellular cAMP and cGMP levels. Furthermore, conspicuous differences were observed from one cell type to another concerning expression of the receptor subsets or the effects of the neuropeptides on cell growth and on cyclic nucleotides production.