LGALS9 and lymphopenia: Nevertheless, among key determinant genes in both UCSF and UIC STAR cohorts we identified genes that provide insight into underexplored mechanisms that may account for lymphopenia in sarcoidosis, such as the galectins, LGALS-3 and LGALS-9, which serve as both drivers of T-cell death and perpetuators of T-cell exhaustion (94–99).