Structural insight reveals SARS-COV-2 ORF7a as an immunomodulating factor for human CD14+ monocytes

SARS-CoV-2 ORF7a is an immunoglobulin-like protein. ORF7a interacts with CD14+ monocytes in human peripheral blood. This interaction decreases the HLA-DR expression from cell surface and induces proinflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8 and TNFα, which may indicate that ORF7a is a key modulator of cytokine storm.