CD8A and leishmaniasis: Although, this way of cell activation in leishmaniasis remains controversial and it is not clear how non-secretory parasite antigens such as histone H1 can be presented endogenously in the context of MHC class I molecules, a number of studies supports the induction of specific CD8+ T cell responses against structural parasite proteins in animal models and VL patients (82, 84, 86, 87).