Since antibody responses and CD8+ T cells were believed to be mainly reliant on CD4+ T cells for help and these cells were the target of HIV-1 infection, there was widespread belief that, based primarily on peripheral blood assays, CD4+ T cell responses to HIV-1 were lost early and the antibody and CD8+ T cell responses were dysregulated and impaired (5). The gene discussed is CD8A; the disease is HIV-1 infection.