Assertion : Colon bacilli can be used to produce glycoproteins that can be used fot hepatitis B treatment
Reason : Hepatitis B is a viral disease and its spread in the body can be checked using interferons.

Options

A. If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion
B. If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion
C. If assertion is true but reason is false
D. If both assertion and reason are false

Answer

B

Explanation

Interferons are antiviral glycoproteins (called cytokines) that function as immune regulators or lymphokines produced by the infected cell in response to viral infections. Until recently the only source of interferons was human white blood cells or virus infected human cells grown in tissue culture. Now a days, colon bacilli can be genetically engineered to produce human interferons. These interferons (particularly `IFN alpha`) are used significantly fir the treatment of hepatitis B. They are also being tested for the treatment of cancer and some viral diseases including AIDS.