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Immune repertoire

Let the CAThepsin L out of the thymus

Cathepsin L, a lysosomal protease, is critical for thymic epithelial cell function, particularly in CD4+ T cell selection, TCR repertoire diversity and the regulation of peripheral immune responses.

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Fig. 1: Proposed role of Ctsl in cTECs.

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Acknowledgements

The laboratory of N.L.A. is supported by “la Caixa” Foundation (project LCF/PR/HR23/52430019).

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Correspondence to Nuno L. Alves.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Alves, N.L. Let the CAThepsin L out of the thymus. Nat Immunol 26, 995–997 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-025-02173-z

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