The immune response is largely dependent on molecular inter- actions involving proteins. The recognition of antigen molecules, whether they are proteins or non-proteins, whether they are self or non-self, takes place at the molecular-cellular interface through membrane receptor molecules that are proteins. The initial step of recognition activates a complex series of cellular events requiring some mechanism of cell-cell interactions and communi- cations, eventually leading to antibody production. This biolo- gical cascade is controlled at several positions along its con- secutive pathways by...

The structural features responsible for the immunogenicity of certain parts of native protein molecules have been of interest to immunochem ists and protein chemists for over three decades. However, until re cently no concerted effort was (or could be) devoted to the elucidation of the complete antigenic structure of a protein. In order for these en deavors to be successful and meaningful, knowledge of both the amino acid sequence and the detailed three-dimensional structure of the protein is necessary. Such information was not available for a protein until early in the 1960s. This and the...

This symposia series, founded in 1976, is devoted to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the field in immunology, particularly as it relates to the immune recognition and responses to protein and peptide antigens. Leading investigators are convened every 2 or 3 years for the purpose of consolidating the research on protein and peptide antigens of defined structure and to focus on these findings in the context of contemporary immunology. Each symposium has focussed on a particular aspect of molecular and cellular immunology of proteins and peptides. It is extremely gratifying...