CD8A and Autoimmunity: To investigate the mechanism of autoimmunity and peripheral tolerance in the skin, several transgenic mouse strains expressing membrane-bound ovalbumin (mOVA) as an epidermal self-antigen under the control of keratinocyte-specific promotors, such as keratin 5 and keratin 14, were employed in combination with adoptive transfer of CD8+ T cells from OT-I mice (OT-I T cells) that recognize an ovalbumin-derived peptide.