Since SLE is characterized by very high systemic inflammation and our initial characterization of the SLE CD8+ T cell population showed aberrancy, we then looked for known inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α, cytotoxic molecules Granzyme B and Perforin C, and transcription factors T-bet and Eomes. Here, EOMES is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.