Most autoimmune diseases are caused by the interplay between common genetic risk variants and environmental factors. New studies of ancient genomes suggest that many of these variants evolved under strong selection pressures, probably due to lifestyle-specific environmental pathogens, the consequences of which shape the distribution of present-day disease risk and point to novel therapeutic interventions. In this Comment article, the authors alert us to recent studies of ancient DNA that advance our understanding of the origins of autoimmune disease, providing evidence that our disease risk has been shaped by pathogen-driven evolution.

中文翻译：

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古代DNA揭示了自身免疫性疾病的进化起源

大多数自身免疫性疾病是由常见遗传风险变异和环境因素之间的相互作用引起的。对古代基因组的新研究表明，许多这些变异是在强大的选择压力下进化的，可能是由于生活方式特定的环境病原体，其后果塑造了当今疾病风险的分布，并指出了新的治疗干预措施。在这篇评论文章中，作者提醒我们注意最近对古代 DNA 的研究，这些研究增进了我们对自身免疫性疾病起源的理解，提供了证据表明我们的疾病风险是由病原体驱动的进化决定的。