Cluster of Differentiation 8 (CD8) is a disulphide-linked heterodimer consisting of the unrelated α and β subunits. Each subunit is a glycoprotein composed of a single extracellular Ig-like domain, a polypeptide linker, a transmembrane part and a short cytoplasmic tail. On T cells, CD8 is the coreceptor for the T cell receptor (TCR), and these two distinct structures recognize the Antigen–Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). Specifically, the Ig-like domain of CD8α interacts with the α3-domain of the MHC class I molecule. CD8 ensures specificity of the TCR–antigen interaction, prolongs the contact between the T cell and the antigen presenting cell, and the α chain recruits the tyrosine kinase Lck, which is essential for T cell activation.
