Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.08.18.256776v1?rss=1 Authors: Dominguez Andres, A., Feng, Y., Campos, A. R., Yin, J., Yang, C.-C., James, B., Murad, R., Kim, H., Deshpande, A. J., Gordon, D. E., Krogan, N. J., Pippa, R., Ronai, Z. A. Abstract: Disrupted antiviral immune responses are associated with severe COVID-19, the disease caused by SAR-CoV-2. Here, we show that the 73-amino-acid protein encoded by ORF9c of the viral genome contains a putative transmembrane domain, interacts with membrane proteins in multiple cellular compartments, and impairs antiviral processes in a lung epithelial cell line. Proteomic, interactome, and transcriptomic analyses, combined with bioinformatic analysis, revealed that expression of only this highly unstable small viral protein impaired interferon signaling, antigen presentation, and complement signaling, while inducing IL-6 signaling. Furthermore, we showed that interfering with ORF9c degradation by either proteasome inhibition or inhibition of the ATPase VCP blunted the effects of ORF9c. Our study indicated that ORF9c enables immune evasion and coordinates cellular changes essential for the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info