The SARS Coronavirus 3a protein causes endoplasmic reticulum stress and induces ligand-independent downregulation of the type 1 interferon receptor.
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is reported to cause apoptosis of infected cells and several of its proteins including the 3a accessory protein, are pro-apoptotic.Since the 3a protein localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi compartment, its role in causing ER stress was investigated in transiently transfected