Armstrong, Christopher W, Mensah, Fane F K, Leandro, Maria J et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2023 · DOI
This study examined immune cells called B cells from ME/CFS patients and healthy people to understand how they handle energy differently. Researchers found that B cells from ME/CFS patients struggle to produce enough energy and have to work harder, using more nutrients to keep functioning. These cells also showed signs of being under stress, which may help explain why ME/CFS patients feel exhausted.
Understanding how ME/CFS patients' immune cells handle energy is crucial for developing treatments that address the root cause of exhaustion, not just symptoms. This research provides concrete cellular evidence that energy metabolism problems are real and measurable, validating patient experiences and opening pathways for therapeutic interventions targeting metabolic pathways in immune cells.
This study does not prove that B cell metabolic dysfunction causes ME/CFS symptoms in patients, only that it occurs in lab conditions. It also cannot determine whether these metabolic changes are primary disease mechanisms or secondary responses to illness. The findings are limited to B cells in culture and may not fully reflect what happens in living patients.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Armstrong, Christopher W, Mensah, Fane F K, Leandro, Maria J, Reddy, Venkat, Gooley, Paul R, Berkovitz, Saul, et al. (2023). <i>In vitro</i> B cell experiments explore the role of CD24, CD38, and energy metabolism in ME/CFS.. Frontiers in immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1178882
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-armstrong-2023-vitro-cell,
author = {Armstrong, Christopher W and Mensah, Fane F K and Leandro, Maria J and Reddy, Venkat and Gooley, Paul R and Berkovitz, Saul and Cambridge, Geraldine},
title = {<i>In vitro</i> B cell experiments explore the role of CD24, CD38, and energy metabolism in ME/CFS.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2023.1178882},
note = {PubMed: 38259473},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/armstrong-2023-vitro-cell},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/armstrong-2023-vitro-cell
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