This article reviews immunological processes relevant to the design of an effective vaccine against HIV-1, taking the position that if they are properly elicited, immune effector mechanisms exist that can provide resistance to this virus. These defense modalities include B cells producing select neutralizing antibodies, CD8+ cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) capable of killing HIV-1-infected targets and producing anti-viral cytokines and chemo-kines, and CD4+ T cells helping to generate both B cell and CTL responses and also producing important chemokines and cytokines. Many are concerned that