IFNA1 and COVID-19: Given the key role ISGs are known to play in the placental antiviral response (46, 47, 73) and placental barrier function (74), and previous reports of sex differences in expression of IFN-stimulated proteins in the plasma of patients with COVID-19 (42), we examined whether maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with sex-specific alterations in placental type I, II, and III IFN pathways (fig.