Molecular cloning lends credence to lymphokine research

There is no longer any doubt that lymphokines are real. At a recent meeting some major advances in lymphokine research were clear - most notably, the application of molecular cloning techniques which have given credence to lymphokines and provided the necessary homogeneous materials for in-vivo and in-vitro studies. Clarification of the structure and function of some lymphokines has diminished the use of assay-related acronyms to describe ill-defined activities and evidence is accumulating for cascades of lymphokines and synergy between molecules. The emerging picture is exciting but complicated.