MMP9 and COVID-19: To further determine whether 6 key target genes identified in this study (AKT1, MMP9, ICAM1, TLR4, BCL2, and HIF1A) could be used as therapeutic targets for sepsis and COVID-19, we downloaded the gene expression profiles of sepsis and COVID-19 patients from the GEO database (GSE95233, GSE171110) (Fig 5).