Studies in adult patients have explored similar CD8+ FOXP3+ (suppressor phenotype) T-cells in more detail, where these cells have been found to be defective or dysregulated, however, patient and cohort immune heterogeneity has resulted in mixed reports surrounding their frequency in circulation and functional phenotype in SLE compared to healthy individuals (39–41). This evidence concerns the gene CD8A and systemic lupus erythematosus.