Coming to Grips with DRiPs

I proposed the defective ribosomal product (DRiP) hypothesis nearly 30 years ago to account for the rapid generation of MHC I presented viral peptides from otherwise metabolically stable viral proteins. It posits that errors in converting genetic information into stable proteins accounts for a sizable fraction of the MHC class I immunopeptidome. I will discuss recent studies that provide insight into the importance of DRiPs for immunosurveillance and the myriad mechanisms that give rise to DRiPs. While I hope that the the science discussed is interesting, the main purpose of the talk is to convey the joy of basic research and the philosophy underlying experimental biology.