STING1 and chronic kidney disease: Since in long COVID there is deregulation of the functions of various systems of the human body41 and, possibly, high levels of cGAS-STING can contribute to the development of low-grade inflammatory diseases in various organs such as the heart (cardiomyopathy and myocardial infarction), liver (fat accumulation), kidneys (chronic kidney disease), pancreas (type 1 diabetes mellitus) and brain (ischemic stroke)43, the elevated levels of cGAS and STING observed in this study may suggest an important role for these markers in the development and maintenance of long COVID.