How immunology is reshaping clinical disciplines: the example of haematology

Haematology represents a prime example of how rapidly immunology is moving towards the bedside. The diagnosis of blood disease has been modified by th e "cluster of differentiation" (CD) nomenclature of leucocyte surface antig ens, and the molecular genetics of the immune system has had a major effect on the diagnosis and treatment of blood malignancies. Lymphoid tumours rep resent a fertile area of interaction between immunology and haematology: B- cell malignancies are associated with dysregulation of the immune system, a nd antigen exposure might have an important role in the development of lymp hoid malignant clones that interact with the microenvironment to avoid apop tosis and acquire better growing conditions. Understanding the pathophysiol ogy of immune-mediated blood diseases has paved the way to the successful u se of immunosuppressive agents, and the unravelling of the mechanisms of ly mphocyte signal transduction and the relations between lymphocyte activatio n and apoptosis are allowing new therapeutic approaches. Paradoxically, lym phoid tumours are an excellent model to test the efficacy of manipulating t he immune system for the purpose of tumour eradication.