Figure 9.

Proposed schematic representation of processes involved in VHSV degradation and antigen processing in rainbow trout nucleated RBCs. VHSV cell entry is mediated by endosome acidification, which leads to membrane fusion and thus release of the capsid. RBC transcription of autophagy genes and components of the E3 ubiquitin ligase then starts and intracellular proteins are ubiquitinated to be marked for degradation. The low proteasome activity induced as a consequence of the VHSV proteins presence leads to the accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins that are suggested to be degraded in the autophagosome. Finally, peptides from this process can be coupled into MHC molecules that are later transported to the membrane to potentially participate in the antigen presentation process.