GRE Reading Comprehension
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Source: CHP
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.
It can be inferred from the passage that a cell lacking delta-receptors will be
- A unable to prevent the rhinoviral nucleic acid from shedding its capsid
- B defenseless against most strains of rhinovirus
- C unable to release the viral progeny it develops after infection
- D protected from new infections by antibodies to the rhinovirus
- E resistant to infection by most strains of rhinovirus