Côté, Marceline, Zheng, Yi-Min, Liu, Shan-Lu · PloS one · 2012 · DOI
This study examined how XMRV, a virus once suspected to be linked to ME/CFS, enters human cells. Researchers found that XMRV enters cells differently than many other viruses—it doesn't require acidic conditions inside the cell. They also discovered that a small tail-like structure on the virus's outer coating controls whether the virus can fuse with and infect cells.
Understanding XMRV's mechanisms of cell entry is important for clarifying the virus's relationship (or lack thereof) to ME/CFS, given the initial but later disputed association. These mechanistic insights may help explain why XMRV infection patterns differ from other retroviruses and could inform future investigations into potential viral cofactors in ME/CFS pathogenesis.
This study does not demonstrate that XMRV actually causes or contributes to ME/CFS in humans; it only describes how the virus enters cells in laboratory conditions. The finding that XMRV is a recombinant mouse retrovirus (mentioned in the abstract) questions its natural association with human disease. This in vitro mechanistic work cannot establish clinical relevance to ME/CFS 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
Côté, Marceline, Zheng, Yi-Min, & Liu, Shan-Lu (2012). Membrane fusion and cell entry of XMRV are pH-independent and modulated by the envelope glycoprotein's cytoplasmic tail.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033734
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ct-2012-membrane-fusion,
author = {Côté, Marceline and Zheng, Yi-Min and Liu, Shan-Lu},
title = {Membrane fusion and cell entry of XMRV are pH-independent and modulated by the envelope glycoprotein's cytoplasmic tail.},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0033734},
note = {PubMed: 22479434},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ct-2012-membrane-fusion},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ct-2012-membrane-fusion
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