IL6 and respiratory failure: These findings lay emphasis on a potential link of FURIN with neutrophil activation, inflammasome, and IL-6 activation pathways, supported by high expression levels of IL-6 and neutrophil activation from lung epithelial cells infected with SARS-CoV2 in vitro and by serum levels of IL-6 being a strong predictor for respiratory failure in severe COVID-19 infection [22].