During the past five years much progress has been made in elucidating the molecular basis of the immune response. The organization of genes encoding the specficity of the antigen receptor of B and T cells, as well as of genes encoding various lymphokines, was unravelled. Moreover the rearrangement of genes encoding lymphocytic receptor during the development of lymphocytes was demonstrated to be a unique and particular molecular event characteristic for lymphoid lineage. Important progress also occurred in understanding the organization of genes of the MHC locus, whose products function as genetic restriction elements that control the magnitude and affinity of antibody responses. The knowledge obtained from these fundamental studies has been extended to diseases and contributed to the understanding, function and the characteristics of V genes encoding antibodies and the role of MHC products in autoimmune diseases. The Conference on the Molecular Basis of the Immune Response, organized by Dr. Bona for the New York Academy of Sciences will review some of these advances as well as provide new insight on the function of lymphocytes in physiological and pathological conditions.
