IL6 and HIV infectious disease: HIV infection of microglia results from defective mitophagy, reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and persistent neuroinflammation via the production of interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and C–C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), leading to neurodegenerative effects in HAND patients (Chivero et al. 2017; Mamik et al. 2017; Muzio et al. 2021).