Since IL-2+CD8+T cells have the potential to proliferate independent of CD4+T helper [35], we speculated that although HIV infection resulted in the depletion of CD4+T cells, IL-2+CD107a+CD8+T cells could proliferate despite the absence of help from CD4+T cells and thereby increase the number of HIV-specific CD8+T cells, and enhanced the capacity to contain the viral replication. Here, CD4 is linked to HIV infectious disease.