During the last decade or so vaccine development has been facilitated by
rapid ad- vances in the molecular and cell biology ofthe immune system.
This has laid the foundations of a new generation of vaccines
exemplified by subunit vaccines produced through gene cloning and by
synthetic peptides mimicking small regions ofproteins on the outer coat
ofvi- ruses. However, as subunit and peptide vaccines are only weakly or
non-immunogenic, there is areal need for strategies to improve their
potency. This book contains the proceedings of the 5th NATO Advanced
Studies Institute (ASI), "Vaccine Design: The Role of Cytokine
Networks," held at Cape Sounion Beach, Greece, during 24 June-5 July
1996 and deals in depth with the role ofbasic immunology in the
regulation of immunity and vaccine design. Special emphasis is given to
the use of cyto- kines in conjuction with vaccines with the aim
ofimproving their potency or the use ofvac- cines designed to improve
cytokine production. We express our appreciation to Dr. J.-L. Virelizier
and Dr. G. Kollias for their cooperation in planning the ASI and to Mrs.
Concha Perring for her excellent production ofthe manuscripts. The ASI
was held under the sponsor- ship of NATO Scientific Affairs Division and
generously co-sponsored by SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals
(Philadelphia). Financial assistance was also provided by Connaught
Laboratories Ltd. (Ontario), Pasteur Merieux (Marcy I 'Etoile), Biochine
(Siena), Help SA (Athens), and Avanti Polar Lipids Inc. (Birmingham,
USA).