ReviewPathogens (Basel, Switzerland)2024
SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a Protein as a Therapeutic Target against COVID-19 and Long-Term Post-Infection Effects.
Review in Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- SARS-CoV-2 and Cancer Biology: Exploring the Mechanistic Links.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Structural and Accessory Proteins: Emerging Opportunities for Small-Molecule Coronavirus Antivirals.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- From HIV to SARS-CoV-2 associated neurological disorder ("HAND" to "SAND"): Viral infection as a "time-bomb" for the aging brain.Neuroscience applied · 2026Review
- Genomic Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 NB.1.8.1 and PQ.2 from the Infants and Young Children with Gastrointestinal Symptoms.Infection and drug resistance · 2026Article
- Article
- Post-COVID Condition and Neuroinflammation: Possible Management with Antioxidants.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- SARS-CoV-2 encoded ORF3a interacts with YY1 to promote latent HCMV reactivation.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Review
- Development of viral infectious clones and their applications based on yeast and bacterial artificial chromosome platforms.Molecular biomedicine · 2025Review
- Novel Vaccines Targeting the Highly Conserved SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a Ectodomain Elicit Immunogenicity in Mouse Models.Vaccines · 2025Article
- Acute COVID-19 and LongCOVID syndrome - molecular implications for therapeutic strategies - review.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Immuno-epigenetic paradigms in coronavirus infection.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Genetic Conservation and Diversity of SARS-CoV-2 Envelope Gene Across Variants of Concern.Journal of medical virology · 2025Article
- Article
- Advanced Protocol for Molecular Characterization of Viral Genome in Fission Yeast (Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Alteration of circulating ACE2-network related microRNAs in patients with COVID-19.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed unparalleled challenges due to its rapid transmission, ability to mutate, high mortality and morbidity, and enduring health complications. Vaccines have exhibited effectiveness, but their efficacy diminishes over time while new variants continue to emerge. Antiviral medications offer a viable alternative, but their success has been inconsistent. Therefore, there remains an ongoing need to identify innovative antiviral drugs for treating COVID-19 and its post-infection complications. The ORF3a (open reading frame 3a) protein found in SARS-CoV-2, represents a promising target for antiviral treatment due to its multifaceted role in viral pathogenesis, cytokine storms, disease severity, and mortality. ORF3a contributes significantly to viral pathogenesis by facilitating viral assembly and release, essential processes in the viral life cycle, while also suppressing the body's antiviral responses, thus aiding viral replication. ORF3a also has been implicated in triggering excessive inflammation, characterized by NF-κB-mediated cytokine production, ultimately leading to apoptotic cell death and tissue damage in the lungs, kidneys, and the central nervous system. Additionally, ORF3a triggers the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, inciting a cytokine storm, which is a major contributor to the severity of the disease and subsequent mortality. As with the spike protein, ORF3a also undergoes mutations, and certain mutant variants correlate with heightened disease severity in COVID-19. These mutations may influence viral replication and host cellular inflammatory responses. While establishing a direct link between ORF3a and mortality is difficult, its involvement in promoting inflammation and exacerbating disease severity likely contributes to higher mortality rates in severe COVID-19 cases. This review offers a comprehensive and detailed exploration of ORF3a's potential as an innovative antiviral drug target. Additionally, we outline potential strategies for discovering and developing ORF3a inhibitor drugs to counteract its harmful effects, alleviate tissue damage, and reduce the severity of COVID-19 and its lingering complications.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.