CD8A and Autoimmunity: Through a series of experiments in mice, Rodriguez-Rodriguez et al. concluded that a substantial portion of peripheral TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− DNT cells derive from CD8+ T cells rather than from CD4+ T cells; under certain conditions (e.g., lymphocyte chronic activation, lymphopenia, autoimmunity), some CD8+ T cells may downregulate CD8 and convert their phenotype into DNT cells, which may persist in secondary lymphoid organs and expand upon specific stimulations [35].