Thesevereacuterespiratorysyndromecoronavirus(SARS-CoV)isthevirusthatcausesthesevereacuterespiratorysyndrome(SARS)whichisaserious,potentiallylife-threateningviralinfection.The7aproteinisparticulartotheSARS-CoVvirusanditshowsnosignificantsequencehomologytoviralproteinsofotherknowncoronaviruses.The7aproteincaninducecaspase-dependentapoptosisincelllinesderivedfromdifferentorgans,includingthelung,kidney,andliver.ArecentstudydemonstratedthatBcl-XLblockstheinductionofapoptosisby7a,whichsuggeststhat7aactsatthelevelof,orupstreamoftheBcl-2family.Analysisofthepropertiesof7awithrespecttoits
ABIlitytointeractwithdifferentmembersoftheBcl-2familyanditscellularlocalizationsuggeststhat7ainducesapoptosisbyinterferingdirectlywiththefunctionofthepro-survivalproteinslikeBcl-XL,Bcl-w,Mcl-1,andA1.