As its name suggests, CFTR is a protein found in cell membranes that is responsible for regulating electrical currents through the membrane. It does this by moving negatively charged ions across the cell membrane. As these ions travel across the membrane, water is also secreted from the cytoplasm inside the cell into the extracellular side outside the cell. This activity can be regulated by several different signals, including post-translational modifications, interactions between molecules, and changes in cell volume.
Some scientists hypothesized that CFTR is involved in negative feedback mechanisms to regulate cell volume. To study the role of cell volume in regulating CFTR, the scientists injected small volumes of buffer into a cell expressing normal CFTR. They then measured the amount of current conducted by the CFTR channels in these cells. The data they collected is shown below. 
Mutant CFTR channels do not function as well as normal CFTR channels. This means less water is moved to the extracellular side. As a result, mucus in cystic fibrosis patients is less watery than normal.
Based on the data collected by the scientists, what would you expect to observe in cells of cystic fibrosis patients expressing mutated CFTR when buffer is injected into them?
As its name suggests, CFTR is a protein found in cell membranes that is responsible for regulating electrical currents through the membrane. It does this by moving negatively charged ions across the cell membrane. As these ions travel across the membrane, water is also secreted from the cytoplasm inside the cell into the extracellular side outside the cell. This activity can be regulated by several different signals, including post-translational modifications, interactions between molecules, and changes in cell volume.
Some scientists hypothesized that CFTR is involved in negative feedback mechanisms to regulate cell volume. To study the role of cell volume in regulating CFTR, the scientists injected small volumes of buffer into a cell expressing normal CFTR. They then measured the amount of current conducted by the CFTR channels in these cells. The data they collected is shown below.
Mutant CFTR channels do not function as well as normal CFTR channels. This means less water is moved to the extracellular side. As a result, mucus in cystic fibrosis patients is less watery than normal.
Based on the data collected by the scientists, what would you expect to observe in cells of cystic fibrosis patients expressing mutated CFTR when buffer is injected into them?
