{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T05:01:05Z","timestamp":1775538065463,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,5]],"date-time":"2026-04-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775347200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent responsible for COVID-19. While most research has focused on structural proteins, the accessory protein Open Reading Frame 8 (ORF8) has attracted attention for its role in immune evasion and the induction of a cytokine storm. Although the exact mechanisms underlying viral pathogenicity remain to be elucidated, oxidative stress has been proposed as a key contributing factor. In this study, we evaluated the effect of intranasal administration of ORF8 on arterial blood pressure and the antioxidant system in different organs of male BALB\/c mice at 2- or 8 weeks post-administration. A significant increase in blood pressure and renal total antioxidant capacity was observed in the 8-week group, and decreased catalase activity in the prefrontal cortex was observed in the 2-week group. These findings suggest that ORF8 may contribute to long-term renal alterations and potentially to mechanism relevant to cognitive dysfunction associated with COVID-19.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v18040440","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,6]],"date-time":"2026-04-06T03:11:28Z","timestamp":1775445088000},"page":"440","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Intranasal Administration of SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 Accessory Protein Increases Blood Pressure and Oxidative Stress in Different Tissues of Male BALB\/c Mice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1812-7855","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karla A.","family":"Pavon-Martinez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio Multidisciplinario en Ciencias Biom\u00e9dicas, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Salvador D\u00edaz Mir\u00f3n s\/n, Casco de Santo Tom\u00e1s, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico C.P. 11340, Mexico"},{"name":"Laboratorio de Medicina de la Conservaci\u00f3n, Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Salvador D\u00edaz Mir\u00f3n s\/n, Casco de Santo Tom\u00e1s, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico C.P. 11340, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9658-2727","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovani","family":"Visoso-Carvajal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Medicina de la Conservaci\u00f3n, Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Salvador D\u00edaz Mir\u00f3n s\/n, Casco de Santo Tom\u00e1s, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico C.P. 11340, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rebeca","family":"Campi-Caballero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio Multidisciplinario en Ciencias Biom\u00e9dicas, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Salvador D\u00edaz Mir\u00f3n s\/n, Casco de Santo Tom\u00e1s, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico C.P. 11340, Mexico"},{"name":"Laboratorio de Medicina de la Conservaci\u00f3n, Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Salvador D\u00edaz Mir\u00f3n s\/n, Casco de Santo Tom\u00e1s, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico C.P. 11340, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3630-5979","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jazm\u00edn","family":"Garc\u00eda-Machorro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Medicina de la Conservaci\u00f3n, Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Salvador D\u00edaz Mir\u00f3n s\/n, Casco de Santo Tom\u00e1s, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico C.P. 11340, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3181-2920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Judith","family":"Espinosa-Raya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio Multidisciplinario en Ciencias Biom\u00e9dicas, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Salvador D\u00edaz Mir\u00f3n s\/n, Casco de Santo Tom\u00e1s, Ciudad de M\u00e9xico C.P. 11340, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"707","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)01136-X","article-title":"Long COVID: A Clinical Update","volume":"404","author":"Greenhalgh","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"(2026, January 28). 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