The International Journal of Molecular Sciences grants the award to highlight publications of high quality, scientific significance, and extensive influence. Chunbin Zou is associate professor in the School of Medicine with secondary appointment in Environmental and Occupational Health. Rushikesh Deshpande was a PhD candidate in his lab at the time of this publication. Their paper is called "SARS-CoV-2 Accessory Protein Orf7b Induces Lung Injury via c-Myc Mediated Apoptosis and Ferroptosis". A summary of the paper follows:
SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, primarily attacks lungs and often causes serious cellular damage and death. This study focused on a lesser-known viral protein called Orf7b, which we found to play a major role in lung cell damage. We discovered that Orf7b triggers two harmful processes in lung cells: apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, and ferroptosis, a type of cell death driven by iron and oxidative stress. When Orf7b was active in lung epithelial cells, both types of cell death increased, but the damage was significantly reduced when drugs that block apoptosis or ferroptosis were used. The study also showed that Orf7b increases the activity of a human protein called c-Myc, which helps control whether cells live or die. Blocking c-Myc in experimental models reduced both cell death and overall lung injury. These findings highlight Orf7b as a key driver of lung damage in SARS-CoV-2 infection and suggest it could be a promising target for future treatments aimed at reducing severe lung complications in COVID-19 patients.