One of the first reports of HLA-C downregulation of HLA-C expression in the context of viral infections was described by Elboim et al. The group showed that, upon herpes simplex virus type 2 infection (HSV-2), HLA-C is downregulated from the cell surface of dendritic cells by the viral protein ICP47, which induces killing of the infected cell by NK cells [183]. Here, HLA-C is linked to viral infectious disease.