Our recent studies using various costimulatory molecules have demonstrated that antitumor effect could be induced by B7- or B70-transduced mouse tumors. To augment antitumor effect in vivo, the combination therapy with a costimulatory gene and a cytokine, interkeukin 12 (IL-12), gene to treat metastatic mouse lung tumor was investigated. We transfected with mouse B7 and/or IL-12 into mouse lung carcinoma 3LL, and three transfectants (IL-12/3LL, B7/3LL and IL-12/B7/3LL) were generated. CTL activity induced by the inoculation of IL-12/B7/3LL was increased about 10-fold compared with parental 3LL inoculation. We then examined the therapeutic efficacy of combination with B7 and IL-12-transduced tumors. Four weeks after 3LL inoculation, lung metastasis was significantly reduced by IL-12/B7/3LL post-inoculation, indicating that potent therapeutic antitumor immunity can be induced by combination with costimulators B7 and IL-12. Recently, it was reported that p40 subunit of IL-12 appeared to be a specific inhibitor for IL-12 heterodimer in vitro. To clarify the biological functions of p40 in vivo, we generated the myoblast transfectants which produced IL-12 p40 alone. Local production of IL-12 p40 from transfectant could suppress allogenic CTL induction and Th1-type antibodies (IgG2a/2b/3) production in vivo. Furthermore, IL-12 p40 producing myoblast are less susceptible to rejection compared with parental myoblast, indicating that IL-12 p40 gene transfer may be useful therapeutically in Th1-mediated transplantation and autoimmune disorders.