The 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein for their work on cholesterol metabolism.Brown and Goldstein investigated the cause of remarkably high levels of circulating cholesterol found in certain families.Just as remarkable was the high incidence of heart disease in these families.What Brown and Goldstein found was not what might be expected-these individuals did not make too much cholesterol.Instead,most of these people had defects in receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME).What could possibly link high cholesterol levels in the blood and defective RME in these patients?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Brown and Goldstein found that individuals with high levels of circulating cholesterol had defects in receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME), which means that their cells were not efficiently taking up cholesterol from the blood. Therefore, option B ("Cholesterol was not transported into cells by RME and therefore accumulated in the blood") is the correct choice. Option A is incorrect because RME involves cholesterol uptake, not secretion. Option C is incorrect because facilitated diffusion does not require receptors, which are the key problem in these patients. Option D is incorrect because cholesterol transport into cells can occur via mechanisms other than active transport. Option E is also incorrect because facilitated diffusion does not require receptors.

The 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Was Awarded