Fusion peptide is superior to co-expressing subunits for arming oncolytic herpes virus with interleukin 12.

The results implicate that a fusion-type expression of IL-12 is a method superior to co-expression of separate subunits, due to higher production of functional IL-12 molecules. This study led to the creation of triple-mutated oncolytic HSV-1 armed with human IL-12 currently used in phase 1/2 trial for malignant melanoma.