Bosse, D, Ades, E W · Journal of clinical & laboratory immunology · 1989
This study looked at whether adding a immune-boosting substance called IL-2 to a blood treatment (gammaglobulin) could help the body's immune cells better fight cells infected with Epstein-Barr virus. The researchers found in laboratory tests that IL-2 did enhance this immune response, and they suggested it might help ME/CFS patients who receive gammaglobulin treatment.
Since some ME/CFS patients have elevated EBV antibodies and abnormal immune responses, understanding how to enhance immune cells' ability to target infected cells is clinically relevant. This early mechanistic work provides a rationale for investigating immunotherapeutic approaches that combine gammaglobulin with IL-2 in ME/CFS populations.
This study does not prove that IL-2 works in actual patients—it only demonstrates laboratory activity in cultured cells. It does not establish whether EBV is a primary cause of ME/CFS, nor does it show that this combined treatment would be safe or effective in humans. The findings represent a preliminary hypothesis requiring clinical validation.
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
Bosse, D & Ades, E W (1989). Immunotherapy and enhanced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity using virally-infected target cells.. Journal of clinical & laboratory immunology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2561291/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bosse-1989-immunotherapy-enhanced,
author = {Bosse, D and Ades, E W},
title = {Immunotherapy and enhanced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity using virally-infected target cells.},
journal = {Journal of clinical & laboratory immunology},
year = {1989},
note = {PubMed: 2561291},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bosse-1989-immunotherapy-enhanced},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bosse-1989-immunotherapy-enhanced
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