In pathological and/or stress situations, HLA-E is associated with the replacement of bound signal peptides by a novel much more diverse repertoire of peptides, which can be sensed by αβ T-cell receptors (TCRs)7. Thus, over the last two decades, an increasing number of studies have reported the existence of HLA-E-restricted T cells during various bacterial and viral infections, highlighting their contribution to host defense. This evidence concerns the gene HLA-E and viral infectious disease.