en Infectious disease (Molecular and Cellular aspects) Infectious disease (Molecular and Cellular aspects) Original Article Original Article <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:14.0pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">The worldwide spread of COVID-19, triggered by SARS-CoV-2, has highlighted how viral accessory proteins contribute significantly to bypassing host immune defenses and increasing illness severity. This study investigates the relationship between the levels of SARS-CoV-2 subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) for ORF7a and ORF7b and host interferon-beta (IFN-&beta;) expression in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with different prognoses. Upper respiratory tract samples from 89 patients (49 with poor prognosis and 40 with good prognosis) were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR to measure ORF7a, ORF7b, and IFN-&beta; expression levels. The results revealed significantly higher expression of ORF7a and ORF7b in patients with poor prognosis compared to those with favorable outcomes (P < 0.001). Conversely, IFN-&beta; expression was significantly reduced in the poor prognosis group (P < 0.001), suggesting a potential mechanism of immune suppression. Older age, underlying health conditions, and elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers, such as CRP and D-dimer, were also associated with poorer outcomes. These findings underscore the potential role of ORF7 proteins in suppressing IFN-&beta; signaling, contributing to disease severity. Targeting these viral proteins may offer promising therapeutic avenues to enhance antiviral responses and improve patient outcomes. The study was conducted from August 2022 to February 2022. Further research is warranted to better understand the interplay between viral immune evasion mechanisms and host responses across diverse patient populations.</span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align:left"><br> &nbsp;</p> SARS-CoV-2, sgRNA, Interferon-beta (IFN-β), prognosis, Immune evasion 726 735 http://ijmcmed.org/browse.php?a_code=A-10-8393-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Akbar Zirakjou Dr.akbar.zirakjou@gmail.com 100319475328460034482 100319475328460034482 No Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. Farzin Sadeghi sadeghifarzin6@gmail.com 100319475328460034483 100319475328460034483 No Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Arefeh Ebrahimian Shiadeh viro.science90@gmail.com 100319475328460034484 100319475328460034484 No Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Science, Gorgan, Iran Maryam Hatamibardar h.maryam95@yahoo.com 100319475328460034485 0009-0009-5421-7815 No Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Mohammad Ranaee drm.ranaee@yahoo.com 100319475328460034486 0009-0002-3155-0008 No Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Hemmat Gholinia h_gholinia@yahoo.com 100319475328460034487 100319475328460034487 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Health Research Institute,Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Hossein Ghorbani Ghorbani7958@yahoo.com 100319475328460034488 100319475328460034488 Yes Cancer Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.