Almenar-Pérez, Eloy, Ovejero, Tamara, Sánchez-Fito, Teresa et al. · Clinical therapeutics · 2019 · DOI
This study reviewed research on how ME/CFS may involve changes in how genes are regulated, not the genes themselves. The researchers discovered that dormant DNA sequences called transposable elements—which make up almost half of our genome and were previously thought to be 'junk DNA'—might become activated in ME/CFS patients. This activation could trigger the immune system to attack without an actual infection present.
This work offers a novel mechanistic hypothesis that could explain why ME/CFS patients experience persistent immune activation without detectable pathogens. If transposable element activation is confirmed, it could open entirely new avenues for targeted diagnostics and therapeutic interventions designed to suppress aberrant TE transcription.
This systematic review does not establish causation—it identifies associations between epigenetic patterns and TEs that warrant further investigation. The proposed transposon activation mechanism remains a hypothesis requiring direct experimental validation in ME/CFS patient samples. The study does not prove that TE activation alone explains ME/CFS pathogenesis, as the disease likely involves multiple contributing factors.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Almenar-Pérez, Eloy, Ovejero, Tamara, Sánchez-Fito, Teresa, Espejo, José A, Nathanson, Lubov, & Oltra, Elisa (2019). Epigenetic Components of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Uncover Potential Transposable Element Activation.. Clinical therapeutics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinthera.2019.02.012
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-almenar-prez-2019-epigenetic-components,
author = {Almenar-Pérez, Eloy and Ovejero, Tamara and Sánchez-Fito, Teresa and Espejo, José A and Nathanson, Lubov and Oltra, Elisa},
title = {Epigenetic Components of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Uncover Potential Transposable Element Activation.},
journal = {Clinical therapeutics},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1016/j.clinthera.2019.02.012},
note = {PubMed: 30910331},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/almenar-prez-2019-epigenetic-components},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/almenar-prez-2019-epigenetic-components
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