Thesis methods

Do you think any of the differences you see between NCH93 and other cell lines could be in part explained by sex differences in the cells of origin?

Potentially yes. Studies of cancer cells have found fundamental sex differences in gene expression, stress responses, migratory capacity and treatment response. There is a lung cancer study showing intrinsic sex differences in how the cells regulate glucose metabolism (Sponagel et al. 2022). In meningiomas prognosis differs between sex as men are more likely to have high grade tumours. They also differ in hormone receptor expression, proteomic pathway enrichment and different driver mutations sometimes. There is emerging research that meningioma molecular and metabolic profiles differ according to the subtype and sex, but this is preliminary unpublished data at the moment.

Why did you only use NF2-negative cells for this project?

Because this is the most common driver mutation (so represents the majority of meningioma patients) and to keep the same mutational background, so that results aren’t confounded by presence of different driver mutations influencing role of HK2 (eg/ PI3K mutants might behave very differently in response to metabolic changes)

How does a BCA assay work?

It’s a chemical reaction in which compounds containing two or more peptide bonds react with copper salts in a strongly alkaline solution to produce a violet colour, serving as a qualitative and quantitative test for protein

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