A genomic view of immunology

The outstanding problems facing immunology are whole system issues: curing allergic and autoimmune disease and developing vaccines to stimulate strong er immune responses against pathogenic organisms and cancer. We hope that t he human genome sequence will reveal the molecular checks and balances that ensure both an effective immunogenic response against pathogenic microorga nisms and a suitably tolerogenic response to self antigens and innocuous en vironmental antigens. Three synergistic approaches-sequence homology search es, messenger RNA expression profiling on microarrays, and mutagenesis in m ice-provide the best opportunities to reveal, in the genome sequence, key p roteins and pathways for targeting by new immunomodulatory treatments.