Table 1.

Selected gene therapy vectors for site-specific delivery of transgenes.

Vector	Cardiovascular pathology	Gene	Delivery system	Advantages	Disadvantages	Reference
Plasmid DNA	In-stent restenosis	VEGF	Stent coating	Non-toxic, ease of production and low immunogenicity	Low level and transient expression	[11]
Antisense RNA	In-stent restenosis	cMYC	Catheter	Non-toxic, ease of production and low immunogenicity	Low efficacy of inhibition and non-specific effects	[24]
RNAi	Restenosis	HIF1α	Perivascular delivery	Non-toxic with profound gene inhibition	Non-specific effects	[26]
Adenovirus (first generation)	In-stent restenosis	iNOS	Polyallylamine bisphosphonate- modified stent	High levels of expression	Limited duration of expression, immune response against the vector and inflammation	[12]
Helper-dependent adenovirus	Restenosis	uPA	Intralumenal delivery	Prolonged expression and large capacity of transgene cassette	Low yield of vector and time-consuming production process	[34]
Adeno-associated virus	Myocardial infarction	TGFβ	Direct myocardial injection	Prolonged expression and stable genomic integration	Small capacity of transgene cassette	[39]
Retrovirus	Restenosis	β-Gal	Intralumenal delivery	Life-long expression	Random genome integration and a risk of oncogenesis	[28]
Lentivirus	Heart transplantation	GFP	Direct injection	Transduction of quiescent cells	Low production titers, random genome integration and a risk of oncogenesis	[29]