Common origins of autoimmune diseases and lymphoid malignancies

Interactions between autoimmune disorders and lymphoid malignancies have long been recognized; for instance, with prominent autoimmune manifestations in B- and T-cell lymphomas and an increased risk of lymphoma development in individuals with autoimmune diseases. More recently, several lines of evidence have shown that these two disease types have shared origins, defined by common genetic lesions and pathogenic cell states. Recent work suggests that the safeguards that protect normal lymphocyte development and adaptive immunity against the development of autoimmune diseases and lymphoid malignancies are based on similar sensing mechanisms of pathological lymphocytes. Here, we propose that mechanisms of negative selection that are designed to eliminate autoreactive lymphocytes also operate in suppressing the development of lymphoid malignancies.