Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researcher Dr. Charis Teh has led a study revealing a quality control step in the development in immune T cells. Credit: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Australia The research into T cell development within an organ called the thymus revealed for the first time that a protein complex called LUBAC enables 'quality control' of the cells before they are released into the bloodstream. T cells are an important component of the immune system, orchestrating immune responses in reaction to infections. The thymus is like a 'school' for T cells, training them how to fight infections and eliminating the 'naughty' cells that have the potential to launch dangerous autoimmune attacks on the body's own tissues. Only a small proportion of the T cells that begin their development 'graduate' and are allowed out of the thymus, into the bloodstream - the rest do not survive. Dr Charis Teh, Dr Daniel Gray and colleagues made the di...