Niendak et al. have observed that specific CD8+ T cell response decreased by 58.4% at 24 weeks, with the majority of the decrease (38.7%) noted at 8 weeks in subjects receiving successful anti-TB treatment (123); decrease of the CD8+ T cell response was relatively unaffected by malnutrition, supporting the hypothesis that the frequency of Mtb-specific CD8+ T cells declines with anti-tuberculosis therapy potentially as consequence of decreasing intracellular mycobacterial Ags, and may prove to be a surrogate marker of response to therapy (34, 124). Here, CD8A is linked to nutritional deficiency disease.