Highly up-regulated proteins within these pathways included STAT1; DDX58 and ISG15, both crucial to the IFN-mediated antiviral response in COVID-1932; IFITM3, which is up-regulated in lung epithelial cells during early SARS-CoV-2 infection33; and the chemokines CXCL11, CXCL1, CXCL6, CXCL5 and CXCL10. This evidence concerns the gene CXCL6 and COVID-19.