We found that, while several interactions related to cell growth (EREG_EGFR; EGFR_COPA) and immune response (TNFRSF1A_GRN; TNFSF10_RIPK1) showed similar reductions in COVID-19 and influenza samples compared with healthy controls, COVID-19 samples showed a specific loss in interactions related to cell-cell adhesion, including formation of tight junctions and maintenance of barrier integrity (NECTIN1_NECTIN4, DSG2_DSC3, DSC2_DSG2) (Figure 4B, heatmap, red box). The gene discussed is GRN; the disease is COVID-19.