Clearly further studies are needed to distinguish the requirement of NLRC5 in APCs for priming and cross-priming of naïve CD8+ T cells in the presence or absence of co-stimulatory signals, in activated CD8+ T cells for their survival, and in target cells such as cancer cells and virus-infected cells for rendering them susceptible to effector CD8+ T cells as this could facilitate cross-priming (Figure 1). This evidence concerns the gene CD8A and cancer.