Du Preez, Stanley, Eaton-Fitch, Natalie, Smith, Peter K et al. · Biomolecules · 2023 · DOI
This study looked at how calcium moves into immune cells called NK cells in ME/CFS patients compared to healthy people. Researchers found that calcium enters these cells differently in ME/CFS patients—it flows in more slowly when activated but responds more strongly when blocked. This suggests a problem with a specific calcium channel called TRPM7 that may be involved in why NK cells don't work properly in ME/CFS.
NK cell dysfunction is a well-documented feature of ME/CFS, and this study identifies a specific molecular mechanism—impaired calcium handling through TRPM7—that could explain their reduced antiviral and anti-tumor killing capacity. Understanding this ion channel defect opens potential therapeutic targets and may eventually lead to biomarkers for diagnosis or treatment monitoring.
This study does not prove that TRPM7 dysfunction causes ME/CFS, only that it is altered in the condition. The ex vivo findings in isolated cells may not fully reflect what happens in the body. It does not establish whether this is a primary defect or a secondary consequence of other disease processes, nor does it demonstrate that correcting TRPM7 function would improve patient symptoms.
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
Du Preez, Stanley, Eaton-Fitch, Natalie, Smith, Peter K, & Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya (2023). Altered TRPM7-Dependent Calcium Influx in Natural Killer Cells of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients.. Biomolecules. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13071039
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-du-preez-2023-altered-trpm7,
author = {Du Preez, Stanley and Eaton-Fitch, Natalie and Smith, Peter K and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya},
title = {Altered TRPM7-Dependent Calcium Influx in Natural Killer Cells of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients.},
journal = {Biomolecules},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/biom13071039},
note = {PubMed: 37509075},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/du-preez-2023-altered-trpm7},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/du-preez-2023-altered-trpm7
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