CD8A and HIV-1 infection: The key role of adaptive immunity in control of HIV-1 infection is seen clearly in the associations between the expression of specific HLA class I molecules and HIV-1 disease outcome (11, –, 13), the breadth of Gag-specific CD8+ T-cell responses and virological control (14, 15), and the emergence of immune escape variants against CD8+ T-cell responses (16, 17).