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Tricking the immune system

A malformed protein is ejected from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and shredded up by the proteasome. Scraps of the protein are sent back into the ER where the MHC complex shuttles them to the cell surface and the immune system examines them for any viral traces. A subset of the herpes virus tricks the cell into thinking the MHC is a malformed protein. As a result, it disables the cell’s alarm system and then proliferates without restraint.