Extracellular adenosine deprivation induces epithelial differentiation of HT29 cells: evidence for a concomitant adenosine A(1)/A(2) receptor balance regulation.

HT29 cells display an undifferentiated phenotype in culture. However, numerous treatments are able to induce both epithelial differentiation and cell growth inhibition. We have previously demonstrated that adenosine and its analogues act through specific adenosine receptors to modulate cell proliferation in HT29 and other human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines. Among the treatments tested, the most potent inhibition of HT29 cell growth was induced by deprivation of extracellular adenosine using adenosine deaminase. Here, we investigated the capacity of adenosine deaminase to initiate epithelial differentiation. After 1 month of daily addition of 10 U/ml adenosine deaminase to the culture medium, HT29 cells were cloned by limited dilution. Among the clones obtained, we focused our attention on clone 13. Microscopic visualization and proliferation studies indicated that cells from this clone grew very slowly and in a pseudo-monolayer, in marked contrast with the situation observed in the mother HT29 cell line. In addition, clone 13 cells displayed epithelial features that mimic the enterocytic differentiation of Caco-2 cells. These modifications were accompanied by dramatic changes in the activity of adenosine receptors, as demonstrated by pharmacological studies. In contrast to the original HT29 cells, clone 13 as well as Caco-2 cells displayed (i) a very low number of adenosine A(1) receptors, and (ii) increases in intracellular cAMP levels when challenged with adenosine analogues. It is hypothesized that a loss of adenosine A(1) receptors, with no change or a concomitant increase in adenosine A(2) receptors, results in the emergence of adenosine A(2) receptor-mediated differentiation and inhibition of proliferation, through a cAMP-dependent pathway.