Furthermore, cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in renal tissue can damage the glomeruli and interstitium and are associated with treatment resistance and progression to end-stage renal failure.11 12 However, these previous reports on the involvement of CD8+ T cells in the inflammatory pathology of SLE are exclusively based on the examination of renal tissue samples and had limited sample sizes. Here, CD8A is linked to stage 5 chronic kidney disease.