Similarly, expression of the miRNA hsa-miR-223-5p was observed to be closely related to downregulation of the Natural Killer cell activating gene KLRC3. Natural killer cells are important elements of the immune response to viral infection, in particular the clearance of virus infected cells; their suppression in fatal cases of EVD in humans and NHPs has been observed [61,62]. This evidence concerns the gene KLRC3 and viral infectious disease.