Are ERAD components involved in cross-presentation?

Jeff E Grotzke1, Peter Cresswell1

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.

A long unanswered question in the antigen presentation field is how exogenous antigens cross-presented by Major Histocompatibility Complex class I (MHC-I) molecules to CD8(+) T cells are translocated into the cytosol. Here we discuss the known mechanisms involved in this process with a focus on the hypothesized role of the machinery that functions in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD). Other potential mechanisms of antigen entry to the cytosol are also discussed.

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