CD8A and Abnormal intestine morphology: Early HIV infection is characterized by a dramatic depletion of CD4+ T cells and impaired polarization of Th17 cells in the gastrointestinal tract and a massive expansion of activated CD8+ T cells causing CD8+ T cell-mediated enteropathy (2–4), which is also characterized by microbial overgrowth and translocation of microbial products, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, from the gut into the systemic circulation (5).