GRE Reading Comprehension

Home > GRE Test > GRE Reading Comprehension Questions

Next steps

Source: XDF

The common cold, produced most often by rhinoviruses, is intractable to antiviral defense. A defense against rhinoviruses might nonetheless succeed by exploiting hidden similarities among the rhinovirus strains. For example, most rhinovirus strains bind to the same kind of molecule (delta-receptors) on a cell's surface when they attack human cells. Colonno, taking advantage of these common receptors, devised a strategy for blocking the attachment of rhinoviruses to their appropriate receptors. Rather than fruitlessly searching for an antibody that would bind to all rhinoviruses, Colonno realized that an antibody binding to the common receptors of a human cell would prevent rhinoviruses from initiating an infection. Because human cells normally do not develop antibodies to components of their own cells, Colonno injected human cells into mice, which did produce an antibody to the common receptor. In isolated human cells, this antibody proved to be extraordinarily effective at thwarting the rhinovirus. Moreover, when the antibody was given to chimpanzees, it inhibited rhinoviral growth, and in humans it lessened both the severity and duration of cold symptoms.

Question List: 1 2 3

It can be inferred from the passage that the purpose of Colonno's experiments was to determine whether

  • A chimpanzees and humans can both be infected by rhinoviruses
  • B chimpanzees can produce antibodies to human cell-surface receptors
  • C a rhinovirus' nucleic acid might be locked in its protein coat
  • D binding antibodies to common receptors could produce a possible defense against rhinoviruses
  • E rhinoviruses are vulnerable to human antibodies

Show Answer

Previous       Next