The effects of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 secretory glycoprotein on human primary monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs)

In our study, we found that SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 was secreted out of the cell as a homodimeric glycoprotein with intramolecular disulfide bonds. Stimulatory effects of the ORF8 secretory glycoprotein, like a cytokine, were analyzed by RNA seq using primary human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). 14 differential expression (DE) genes with or without ORF8 proteins were identified under a false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05). Among the DE genes, eight were increased and six were decreased. We found no cytokine-like effects of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 secretory glycoprotein on MDMs in our assay system.