Figure 2 FLASH ANIMATION

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Figure 2 | Antigen processing and presentation.  a | Most substrates that harbour MHC class I epitopes are conjugated with a multi-ubiquitin chain, which targets it to the 26S proteasome for degradation⁸⁰. b | Proteasomal protein substrate processing results in the generation of peptides of 8–11 residues in length, which are c | transported into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by the transporter associated with antigen presentation (TAP) complex^{81, 82}. d | Within the ER, peptides bind to and stabilize the MHC class I heterodimers, which comprise a heavy chain and a 2 microglobulin molecule. e | Importantly, the assembly of MHC molecules is coordinated by molecular chaperones such as BiP, calreticulin and ERp57; only fully assembled, peptide-loaded MHC molecules are translocated, through the Golgi apparatus, to the cell surface^83-85. f | By binding specifically to a given MHC allomorph — an MHC molecule encoded by a specific haplotype — loaded with a unique peptide, cytotoxic T cells with complementary T-cell receptors (TCRs) are stimulated to proliferate and destroy the infected target cell.
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