ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2021
The ORF8 protein of SARS-CoV-2 mediates immune evasion through down-regulating MHC-Ι.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 317 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
317 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 440 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Microbiological research · 2023Pooled it
- SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 Exploits Host miRNA Networks to Rewire Post-Transcriptional Regulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Secreted ORF8 reprograms macrophages to enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection of lung epithelial cells.Science advances · 2026Article
- PD-L1 expression in tissues of cats with naturally occurring feline infectious peritonitis.Virology · 2026Article
- Temporal Dynamics of Innate Immune Activation and Viral Interference During Sequential Co-Infection with Influenza A Virus and SARS-CoV-2: Molecular Mechanisms, Clinical Evidence, and Therapeutic Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Secreted ORF8 reprograms macrophages to enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection of lung epithelial cells.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Structural and Accessory Proteins: Emerging Opportunities for Small-Molecule Coronavirus Antivirals.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- A smartphone-powered decentralized microfluidic platform for sensitive CRISPR-based nucleic acid detection.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2026Article
- Modulation of Host Innate Immune Response by Highly Pathogenic Human Coronaviruses during Viral Infection.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Redundant and distinct mechanisms suppress innate immune activation during SARS-CoV-2 infection.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Article
- HLA-C-derived peptide MH-1 as an early-stage intervention against SARS-CoV-2 infection.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026Article
- HLA-E-restricted SARS-CoV-2 epitopes drive CD8Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Regulation of virion production by the ORF8 signal peptide across SARS-CoV-2 variants.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Genome surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB subvariants in Wuhan in June 2023.Archives of virology · 2026Article
- The molecular mechanisms of autophagy-virus interactions: from antiviral defense to viral counterstrategies.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- The race between viral immune evasion and the MHC class I antigen processing pathway.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Comprehensive whole-genome characterization of SARS-CoV-2 strains in Jining China 2024-2025.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Intrahost viral evolution of SARS-CoV-2 infections in rheumatic versus hematological patients with severe iatrogenic immunosuppression.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 ORF8: an accessory protein at the interface of immune evasion and inflammation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
257 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
24 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global pandemic and has claimed over 2 million lives worldwide. Although the genetic sequences of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 have high homology, the clinical and pathological characteristics of COVID-19 differ significantly from those of SARS. How and whether SARS-CoV-2 evades (cellular) immune surveillance requires further elucidation. In this study, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to major histocompability complex class Ι (MHC-Ι) down-regulation both in vitro and in vivo. The viral protein encoded by open reading frame 8 (ORF8) of SARS-CoV-2, which shares the least homology with SARS-CoV among all viral proteins, directly interacts with MHC-Ι molecules and mediates their down-regulation. In ORF8-expressing cells, MHC-Ι molecules are selectively targeted for lysosomal degradation via autophagy. Thus, SARS-CoV-2-infected cells are much less sensitive to lysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Because ORF8 protein impairs the antigen presentation system, inhibition of ORF8 could be a strategy to improve immune surveillance.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.