Targeting Viral ORF3a Protein: A New Approach to Mitigate COVID-19 Induced Immune Cell Apoptosis and Associated Respiratory Complications

• Published in: Advanced pharmaceutical bulletin 2023-11, Vol.13 (4), p.678-687
• Main Authors: Treeza M, Minu, Augustine, Sanu, Mathew, Aparna Ann, Kanthlal, S.K., Panonummal, Rajitha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Apoptosis; Brain research; Cell death; COVID-19; Defense mechanisms; Disease transmission; Enzymes; Genomes; Glycoproteins; Infections; Lungs; Middle East respiratory syndrome; mutation; orf3a; Polypeptides; Proteins; RNA polymerase; sars-cov-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Small intestine; Viral infections; viral variants; Viruses
• ISSN: 2228-5881; 2251-7308
• DOI: 10.34172/apb.2023.069

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is a growing concern to the global well-being of the public at present. Different amino acid mutations alter the biological and epidemiological characteristics, as well as immune resistance of SARS-CoV-2. The virus-induced pulmonary impairment and inflammatory cytokine storm are directly related to its clinical manifestations. But, the fundamental mechanisms of inflammatory responses are found to be the reason for the death of immune cells which render the host immune system failure. Apoptosis of immune cells is one of the most common forms of programmed cell death induced by the virus for its survival and virulence property. ORF3a, a SARS-CoV-2 accessory viral protein, induces apoptosis in host cells and suppress the defense mechanism. This suggests, inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a protein is a good therapeutic strategy for the treatment in COVID-19 infection by promoting the host immune defense mechanism.