Together, the findings provide strong grounds to suggest the role of TRBV9+ CD8+ T cell clones carrying this characteristic CDR3 motif in driving autoimmunity in ankylosing spondylitis and other HLA-B*27-associated autoimmune spondyloarthropathies, including psoriatic arthritis7, acute anterior uveitis6, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and Crohn’s disease8,9 (Fig. 1a). This evidence concerns the gene TRBV9 and ankylosing spondylitis.