We tested cellular damage by WT-ORF3a and Q57H-ORF3a proteins in H9c2 cardiac myoblasts because this cell line is more vulnerable to oxidative, apoptotic, and inflammatory signaling than cancer cell lines, including HEK293T cells.12,17 A recent report has shown that SARS-CoV-2-ORF3a expression can activate apoptotic signaling.18 We found that the expression of WT-ORF3a, but not ORF3a-Q57H, increased caspase-3 activity in H9c2 cells, as assessed by the amount of cleaved caspase-3 (Figure 2A andB). Here, CASP3 is linked to cancer.