Because the studies were controlled for age and sex, but not for CMV serostatus, it may be assumed that the persistent alterations of the distribution of late effector and terminally differentiated CD8 T cells is probably due to the more pronounced effect of CMV infection on late effector CD8 T cells in individuals with HIV and the higher prevalence of CMV infection in HIV-cohorts compared to the general population. The gene discussed is CD8A; the disease is cytomegalovirus infection.