Human Lymphokines: The Biological Immune Response Modifiers is a collection of papers presented at the Third International Symposium on Human Lymphokines held on October 15-17, 1981 at the Wadley Institutes of Molecular Medicine in Dallas, Texas. Contributors explore the role of human lymphokines in immune responses and their applications in immunotherapy. The focus is on lymphokines that have either entered clinical trials or are nearing clinical evaluation. Some of the activities of possible immediate significance, such as Glia cell stimulating factor and polyclonal B-cell activator, are also described. This volume is organized into six sections encompassing 56 chapters and begins with an overview of assay systems, touching on topics such as the activation of macrophages by interferon to produce plasminogen and macrophage activation by lymphokine factors. The next sections turn to the production, purification, and biological and chemical characterization of lymphokines. The discussion then shifts to the mechanisms of action of lymphokines in vitro and the use of animal models in lymphokine investigations, including lymphokine fractions in a mouse tumor model and enhancement of natural killing activity by different types of interferon. A great deal of emphasis is placed on macrophage migration inhibitory factor, lymphotoxins, gamma interferon, and interleukins. The book concludes with chapters devoted to the immunoregulatory effects of lymphokines and clinical studies.

The Janeway's Immunobiology CD-ROM, Immunobiology Interactive, is included with each book, and can be purchased separately. It contains animations and videos with voiceover narration, as well as the figures from the text for presentation purposes.

The Third Annual Symposium on Health Sciences attracted over 400 scientists from 15 countries. It was held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The theme of this meeting was "Thymic Hormones and Lymphokines: Basic Chem istry and Clinical Applications." The meeting emphasized the state of the art with regard to chemistry, mech anism of action, and clinical applications of thymic hormones and lymphokines. In addition to the five sessions, the chairmen of each session were asked to prepare a synthesis and overview of each of the sessions. Some of the chairmen used this time to summarize the new material presented while others addressed important areas of conflict and terminology. The chairmen of the plenary sessions prepared short summary papers which have been incorporated into this volume at the end of each major section. We also invited several of the scientists who took part in the poster presentations to submit short papers. In addition to the scientific sessions, there were two awards and lectures. One, the Abraham White Distinguished Science Award, was given to Dr. Robert C. Gallo, who gave the keynote lecture. He was recognized for his pioneering research and scientific contributions to our understanding of the regulation of hematopoietic cell differentiation and the role of viruses in the development of human leukemias.

Immunobiology of the Macrophage presents an account of the state of knowledge of the immunobiology of the macrophage. The book's contributors—immunologists of diverse scientific and geographic backgrounds—have been encouraged to give personal accounts of developments in their special fields of interest as well as critical surveys of the backgrounds leading to these developments. The book begins with a study on the functions of macrophages in the initiation and regulation of antibody responses in vitro. This is followed by separate chapters on topics such as the role of macrophages in making antigen more immunogenic and less tolerogenic; functional distinctions between macrophages at different sites; and the role of the macrophage in antigen recognition by T lymphocytes. Subsequent chapters examine interactions between macrophages and lymphocytes in the production of interferon and other mediators of cellular immunity; macrophage cell lines and their uses in immunobiology; and cytotoxic macrophages in allograft rejection.