Intravenous injection of the S1 subunit in mice results in its localization in endothelial cells of mice brain microvessels showing colocalization with ACE2, caspase-3, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and C5b-9, suggesting that the vascular pathology in COVID-19 can be induced by the S protein alone [69]. This evidence concerns the gene TNF and COVID-19.