Bioinformatics databases such as the KEGG, Gene Ontology, or DAVID are useful tools to get an overview of the functional interplay of proteins (Ashburner et al., 2000; Huang Da et al., 2009; Kanehisa et al., 2010) . As pointed out by Friedel and Haas (2011) , complex statistical tools are available to quantitatively evaluate the implication of proteins in various processes but these are beyond the scope of the present review. Here an analysis of the proteins identified in herpesvirions was instead performed with the Ingenuity Pathways Analysis database (Ingenuity ® Systems), which contains all the known physical and functional links among cellular proteins and defines their most significant functions. That analysis indicates that many of the cellular proteins found in herpesvirions normally modulate trafficking, cell proliferation, cell death, cell migration, cell metabolism, or the cytoskeleton (Figure 1 , upper pie chart). Though subtle differences between family members are noticeable when looking at individual viruses, similar functions are found (Figure 1, other charts) . Immune-related molecules are also important constituents for several viruses, including HSV-1, KSHV, γHV68, Alcelaphine, and MCMV. Altogether, this provides an overall picture whereby herpesviruses, not surprisingly, modulate all of the important aspects of the cell but where each virus might deploy its energies slightly differently. The main surprise is that so many cellular proteins are detected within assembled viral particles, which raises an important question as to their biological significance and mode of action.