CD8A and atherosclerosis: In a recent study, Chowdhury and colleagues observed an initial increase in the TCR clonality of plaque CD8 T cells with lipid deposition and plaque maturation, followed by a substantial decrease in that clonality in fibrocalcified plaques28, consistent with the interpretation that there is an oligoclonal surge in T cell proliferation early in atherosclerosis followed by infiltration of polyclonal cells in late disease.