HSPA5 and COVID-19: Another factor of note, associating COVID-19 and mucormycosis may be related to glucose-regulated protein 78 or GRP78, a chaperone and a member of the heat-shock family of proteins (Hsp70), which helps in protein folding, maturation and assembly and is present in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and on the cell surface [19, 20].