Thus, Nrf2 may have therapeutic potential in neuroinflammation and protection against oxidative stress with implications for long COVID-19 neurological complications.17 Sigma-1R induction of AMPK will also phosphorylate Nrf2 resulting in subsequent expression of antioxidant genes.12 Interestingly, expression of Nrf2-dependent genes is suppressed in biopsies from COVID-19 patients.18 Recent data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 indeed represses the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant pathway while treatment of cells with Nrf2 agonists induced a strong antiviral program that limits SARS-CoV-2 replication.18 This evidence concerns the gene NFE2L2 and COVID-19.