Epstein-Barr virus: exploiting the immune system by interfering with defective ribosomal products.

The interaction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes with major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-peptide complexes is a critical step toward the initiation and propagation of specific immune responses against viral infection. Here we review new evidence, taking Epstein-Barr virus as an example, showing that defective ribosomal products provide an important supply of endogenous peptides for entry into the MHC class I antigen-presentation pathway.