T lymphocytes enter the brain by 24 h after ischemic stroke (Gelderblom et al., 2009; Kleinschnitz et al., 2013; Chu et al., 2014), and both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells contribute to post-ischemic injury in mice (Arumugam et al., 2005; Kleinschnitz et al., 2013). Here, CD8A is linked to ischemic stroke.