Evidence linking EBV and RA includes the following: in patients with RA, (i) circulating EBV load is higher than in healthy controls; (ii) activated CD8+ T cells specific to EBV are frequently detected; (iii) a large number of T cells specific to EBV-encoded proteins are present in affected joints; (iv) T-cell functions to suppress the outgrowth of EBV-induced B cells are deficient, and (v) larger numbers of EBV-infected B cells are present in the blood compared to normal controls [102]. The gene discussed is CD8A; the disease is rheumatoid arthritis.