Differential sensitivity of normal and chemically transformed epithelial cells to cholera toxin.

We have been studying the regulation of growth by cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and other factors in untransformed (K16) and chemically transformed (W8) rat liver epithelial cells. Initially, we found that 8-bromocyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate was a more potent inhibitor of cell replication in K16 than in W8 cells. In addition, the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (MIX) caused marked growth inhibition in K16 but not in W8 cells. Through the use of cholera toxin (CT) with or without MIX, we elevated intracellular cyclic AMP levels in a quantifiable fashion. With CT alone or combined with MIX, we observed a dose-dependent morphological change in W8 cells, which consisted of extensive "process" formation. K16 morphology was not altered at any concentration of CT +/- MIX tested. K16 cell growth was only marginally inhibited by CT alone, but markedly inhibited by CT plus MIX. W8 cell growth was moderately inhibited by CT alone or combined with MIX. Analysis of cyclic AMP levels revealed that, at all concentrations of CT +/- MIX and at all time periods tested, W8 cells produced significantly more cyclic AMP than K16 cells. It appears that morphological changes and growth inhibition are not necessarily linked and that MIX may inhibit K16 cell replication by means other than its ability to increase intracellular cyclic AMP levels.