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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Exp Eye Res. 2016 Apr 27;158:73–84. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2016.04.023

Fig. 1. Genome and structure models of vectors commonly used in ocular gene transfer.

Fig. 1

Adenoviral vectors are non-integrating and can deliver up to 38 kilo-basepairs (kb). Adeno-associated viral vectors may integrate or persist as concatemers and have a small physical size with a packaging capacity of 1.6 kb. Herpes simplex viral vectors do not integrate and have a very large capacity of up to 150 kb. Newer adeno- and herpes viral vectors are less immunogenic than earlier generations. Retroviral vectors have a packaging capacity of 7 kb and only transduce dividing cells into which they permanently integrate. Lentiviruses belong to the family of retroviridae but have evolved a nuclear import mechanism for nondividing cells. Derived vectors have a capacity of 7 kb and permanently integrate into both dividing and nondividing cells. All vectors shown here, but not the adeno-associated and retroviral vector, are capable of delivering complex genes that include introns. All of them can deliver exons and small, non-coding RNA (siRNA).