Cabanas, Hélène, Muraki, Katsuhiko, Eaton, Natalie et al. · Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2018 · DOI
This study examined a specific ion channel called TRPM3 in immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells, which help fight infections and cancer. Researchers found that this channel doesn't work properly in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people, which may affect how these immune cells function. This discovery could help explain why ME/CFS patients often have weakened immune responses.
Understanding the specific molecular defects in NK cell function is crucial for ME/CFS because these cells are central to immune defense. This work provides a mechanistic basis for the previously documented reduced NK cell activity in ME/CFS, potentially opening avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions. Identifying functional ion channel abnormalities may help develop biomarkers for disease diagnosis and monitoring.
This study demonstrates that TRPM3 function is impaired in ME/CFS patients but does not prove this dysfunction causes the disease—it may be a consequence of illness rather than a cause. The small sample size (12 per group) and single-cell recording methodology limit generalizability. The study does not establish whether TRPM3 dysfunction alone explains the immune abnormalities observed in ME/CFS or whether other compensatory mechanisms are involved.
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
Cabanas, Hélène, Muraki, Katsuhiko, Eaton, Natalie, Balinas, Cassandra, Staines, Donald, & Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya (2018). Loss of Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 3 ion channel function in natural killer cells from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients.. Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.). https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-018-0046-1
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-cabanas-2018-loss-transient,
author = {Cabanas, Hélène and Muraki, Katsuhiko and Eaton, Natalie and Balinas, Cassandra and Staines, Donald and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya},
title = {Loss of Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 3 ion channel function in natural killer cells from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients.},
journal = {Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.)},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1186/s10020-018-0046-1},
note = {PubMed: 30134818},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/cabanas-2018-loss-transient},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/cabanas-2018-loss-transient
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