Table 4.

Advantages and disadvantages of current vectors for gene therapy

Viral Vectors
Types	Advantages	Disadvantages
Adenovirus	High effectiveness	Immunogenic; toxic; short-run expression; replication competence
Retro-/Lentivirus	High effectiveness; long-run expression	Insertional mutagenesis; replication competence
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)	High effectiveness; substantial capacity	Cytotoxic; short-run expression
Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)	High effectiveness; long-run expression; low immunogenic	Difficult to produce; size limitation

Nonviral Vectors

Advantages: Not toxic; not infections; easy to make; substantial capacity

Disadvantages: Low effectiveness; short-run expression