ArticleNature communications2021
SARS-CoV-2 N protein promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation to induce hyperinflammation.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 341 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
341 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 501 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advances in NLRP3 inflammasome research in viral infections: evolution, trends, and future directions.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Pooled it
- Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- Nasal administration of anti-CD3 mAb (Foralumab) downregulatesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Trial
- Review
- MNS induces antiviral protection and suppresses inflammation.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Inflammasomes in respiratory diseases: from disease pathogenesis to drug development and use of multi-omics.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026Review
- Caspase-11-mediated hyperinflammation impairs CD8+ T cell immunity and viral clearance in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Familial Mediterranean Fever Presenting with Recurrent Abdominal Pain without Periodic Fever Following COVID-19.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2026Article
- Porcine coronavirus promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation during virus-induced neuroinflammation.mBio · 2026Article
- Involvement of NLRP3 Inflammasome in Methamphetamine Augmentation of SARS-CoV-2 N-Protein-Induced Neuroinflammation in Rat Microglial Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Targeting the NLRP3 Inflammasome with Colchicine in COVID-19: Therapeutic Evidence and Future Implications for Influenza.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The challenge of cell death switching in inflammasome-targeted therapies for bacterial and viral infections.Communications biology · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial OXPHOS restricts SARS-CoV-2 replication.Science advances · 2026Article
- ASFV pA137R protein triggers inflammatory response by inducing NF-κB signaling pathway and facilitating NLRP3 inflammasome assembly.Virologica Sinica · 2026Article
- Modulation of Host Innate Immune Response by Highly Pathogenic Human Coronaviruses during Viral Infection.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Review
- PANoptosis as a Therapeutic Target for COVID-19.Current microbiology · 2026Review
- Sensing the spectrum: diverse stimuli for the NLRP3 inflammasome.Communications biology · 2026Review
- Infectious bronchitis virus accessory protein 3a induces renal inflammatory injury by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome via ER calcium mobilization and mitochondrial ROS production.Journal of virology · 2026Article
- NLR Inflammasomes in Viral Infections: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Interventions.Viruses · 2026Review
- Direct interaction between human DDX1 and SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein is regulated by phosphorylation.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
281 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
22 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Excessive inflammatory responses induced upon SARS-CoV-2 infection are associated with severe symptoms of COVID-19. Inflammasomes activated in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection are also associated with COVID-19 severity. Here, we show a distinct mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 N protein promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation to induce hyperinflammation. N protein facilitates maturation of proinflammatory cytokines and induces proinflammatory responses in cultured cells and mice. Mechanistically, N protein interacts directly with NLRP3 protein, promotes the binding of NLRP3 with ASC, and facilitates NLRP3 inflammasome assembly. More importantly, N protein aggravates lung injury, accelerates death in sepsis and acute inflammation mouse models, and promotes IL-1β and IL-6 activation in mice. Notably, N-induced lung injury and cytokine production are blocked by MCC950 (a specific inhibitor of NLRP3) and Ac-YVAD-cmk (an inhibitor of caspase-1). Therefore, this study reveals a distinct mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 N protein promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation and induces excessive inflammatory responses.
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Registered trials
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.