It has been proposed that CD8+ cells expressing HLA-DR without CD38 are preferentially generated in response to low antigenic stimulation and that by retaining good effector function, may play a role in suppressing HIV replication in elite controllers, as well as clearing hepatitis C infection (Saez-Cirion et al., 2007; Zubkova et al., 2014). Here, CD8A is linked to hepatitis C virus infection.