IL6 and COVID-19: Compared with the healthy controls, hsa_circ_0000479 exhibited increased level in COVID-19 patients, along with the upregulation of retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and IL-6, and downregulation of miR-149-5p.114 Overexpressed hsa_circ_0000479 can indirectly stimulate the RIG-I through binding to miR-149-5p, and the activated RIG-I would trigger the expression of IL-6.115,116 Therefore, a hsa_circ_0000479 composed circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axis may serves a critical function in mediating the pro-inflammatory cytokines expression after SARS-CoV-2 infection.