VEGFA and COVID-19: By contrast, transcriptomic sequencing of human nasopharyngeal swab samples (28) and broncho-alveolar fluid neutrophils (29) in COVID-19 showed upregulation of the HIF1α downstream target gene VEGFA in neutrophils that had transmigrated from the vasculature into the infected mucosa, suggesting that the HIF transcription factor had been assembled (28, 29).