NEETZoologyHuman Health and Diseases
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): Virus-infected cells secrete proteins called interferons which protect non-infected cells from further viral infection. Reason (R): Interferons constitute the cytokine barriers, which are a type of acquired immunity. In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options g
Options
- A(A) is true but (R) is false.
- BBoth (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
- CBoth (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
- D(A) is false but (R) is true.
Correct answer
A. (A) is true but (R) is false.
Step-by-step solution
Assertion (A) is a correct statement. According to NCERT, virus-infected cells secrete specific proteins called interferons, which protect adjacent non-infected cells from further viral infection. Reason (R) is an incorrect statement. While it is true that interferons constitute the cytokine barriers, these barriers are one of the four types of innate immunity (present at birth and non-specific), not acquired immunity. Acquired immunity is pathogen-specific and characterised by memory. Therefore, (A) is true but (R