Cornell University, New York
Extracts
Debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome creates conditions where a kind of immune cell that identifies and kills pathogens, known as a T cell, becomes exhausted, according to a new study that points the way for important new lines of investigation.
The study’s authors knew the immune system was dysregulated in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), so they began by asking, which parts shift with the condition? A systematic exploration revealed that key CD8+ T cells displayed one of the most pronounced signatures of dysregulation, with signs of constant stimulation that lead to an exhausted state, a condition that is well-studied in cancer.
“This is an important finding for ME/CFS because now we can examine the T cells more carefully, and hopefully by looking in the exhausted cells we can start to get hints as to what they are responding to.”
Andrew Grimson, professor of molecular biology and genetics in the College of Arts and Science
“T cells are an important part of the body's immune system defence against viral infections.
So where there is a significant T cell defect, as in HIV/AIDS, this predisposes people to picking up other serious infections.
This is not the first time that research into the role of the immune system in ME/CFS has identified T cell dysfunction.
A major study involving the ME Biobank (which is funded by the MEA) has reported on T cell dysfunction: “In contrast, the T cell compartment was altered in ME/CFS, with increased proportions of effector memory CD8+ T cells and decreased proportions of terminally differentiated effector CD8+ T cells. Conversely, there was a significantly increased proportion of mucosal associated invariant T cells (MAIT) cells, especially in severely affected ME/CFS patients. These abnormalities demonstrate that an altered immunological state does exist in ME/CFS, particularly in severely affected people”.
However, the type of T cell exhaustion reported in this ME/CFS research does not appear to be the same as found in HIV/AIDS and it does not appear to predispose people with ME/CFS to other serious infections.
Having said that, these are interesting results which I will discuss with the ME Biobank team next week – as it may be worth using some Biobank samples from people with ME/CFS and MS to see if these findings can be replicated.”
Dr Charles Shepherd
Dr Charles Shepherd,
Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association,
Member of the 2018-2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS committee,
Member of the 2002 Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME/CFS
Further media coverage
- News Medical: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20241203/Study-finds-T-cell-exhaustion-in-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-patients.aspx | 3rd December 2024
- Medical Xpress: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-12-cells-exhausted-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html | 3rd December 2024