Mechanisms of interference with the MHC class I‐restricted pathway of antigen presentation by herpesviruses

Herpesviruses are an ancient, ubiquitous family of DNA viruses, most of which share a lifestyle of latently or persistently infecting a young host, and spreading to infect a new host a generation later. Most herpesviruses interfere with antigen presentation via the MHC class I-restricted pathway of antigen presentation, suggesting that impairment of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte response is necessary for the maintenance of this lifestyle. The diverse molecular mechanisms that have so far been discovered employed by Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex viruses, and human and murine cytomegaloviruses are described in this review.