Sensitized CD8+ T cells fail to control organism burden but accelerate the onset of lung injury during Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

While CD8+ cells have been shown to contribute to lung injury during Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), there are conflicting reports concerning the ability of CD8+ cells to kill P. carinii. To address these two issues, we studied the effect of the presence of CD8+ cells in two mouse models of PCP.