Dependent variable: Relative uptake of NGA. This variable depends on the cell line and potentially other factors like time and concentration, and is measured in comparison to glucose uptake.
How to explain
Justification for cell line in Figure 3: The researchers likely chose a cell line with high NGA uptake from Figure 1 (e.g., cell line A) to study the impact of the inhibitor on NGA uptake specifically in cells that readily utilize the analogue.
Number of patients with expressed GLUT1 and GLUT3: Based on the limited data sample, it's not possible to determine the exact number of patients with GLUT1 and GLUT3 expression. However, we can identify trends:
At least 1 patient has high GLUT1 expression in cancer cells.
At least 1 patient has high GLUT3 expression in cancer cells.
Several patients have low expression of both GLUT1 and GLUT3 in normal cells.
Percent change in NGA uptake: Calculate the difference between control and inhibitor uptake for each cell line and divide by the control value, then multiply by 100% to get the percent change:
Cell A: (1.00 - 0.80) / 1.00 * 100% = 20% decrease
Cell B: (0.85 - 0.70) / 0.85 * 100% = 17.6% decrease
Cell C: (0.60 - 0.45) / 0.60 * 100% = 25% decrease
The Complete Question
Cancer Cell Uptake of a Novel Glucose Analogue:
Researchers are investigating a novel glucose analogue (NGA) for its potential in cancer diagnosis and treatment. They conducted a series of experiments to understand its uptake by cancerous and normal cells.
Data:
Figure 1: Shows the relative uptake of NGA and glucose by three different cancer cell lines (A, B, and C) compared to a control cell line (N).
Data for Figure 1:
Cell Line NGA Uptake Glucose Uptake
A 1.25 1.00
B 0.75 1.00
C 0.50 1.00
N 0.20 1.00
Figure 2: Shows the expression levels of the GLUT1 and GLUT3 glucose transporters in cancerous and normal cells from 20 patients.
Data for Figure 2:
Patient Cancerous Cells - GLUT1 Cancerous Cells - GLUT3 Normal Cells - GLUT1 Normal Cells - GLUT3
1 High Medium Low Low
2 Medium Low Low Low
3 Low High Low Low
... ... ... ... ...
Figure 3: Shows the relative uptake of NGA by cancer cells treated with a specific inhibitor (Inhibitor) compared to untreated control cells.
Data for Figure 3:
Cell Line Control NGA Uptake Inhibitor NGA Uptake
A 1.00 0.80
B 0.85 0.70
C 0.60 0.45
Tasks:
Identify a dependent variable in the researchers' experiment shown in Figure 1. Justify your choice.
Justify the use of the cell line in the experiments shown in Figure 3.
Based on the data in Figure 2, identify the number of patients whose cancer cells express GLUT1 and GLUT3.
Calculate the percent change in relative uptake of NGA by cells compared with cells in Figure 3.