Glass, Katherine A, Giloteaux, Ludovic, Zhang, Sheng et al. · Clinical and translational medicine · 2025 · DOI
Researchers studied tiny particles called extracellular vesicles in the blood of ME/CFS patients before and after exercise. They found that in people with ME/CFS, these particles show signs of energy problems, immune overactivity, and cellular stress after exertion—changes that were linked to post-exertional malaise (the worsening of symptoms after activity). These findings suggest new targets for treatment that could help improve recovery and energy in ME/CFS.
This study provides molecular evidence for abnormal metabolic and immune responses to exercise in ME/CFS, helping explain the biological basis of post-exertional malaise at the cellular level. By identifying specific proteins involved in these dysfunctional responses, it suggests concrete therapeutic targets that could potentially be developed into treatments to reduce PEM severity and improve recovery.
This study does not prove that the identified EV protein changes cause post-exertional malaise—only that they correlate with it. The small sample size (10 ME/CFS patients) and restriction to males limits generalizability to female patients and larger populations. It also does not establish whether these EV changes represent primary defects or secondary responses to the disease.
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
Glass, Katherine A, Giloteaux, Ludovic, Zhang, Sheng, & Hanson, Maureen R (2025). Extracellular vesicle proteomics uncovers energy metabolism, complement system, and endoplasmic reticulum stress response dysregulation postexercise in males with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. Clinical and translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/ctm2.70346
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-glass-2025-extracellular-vesicle,
author = {Glass, Katherine A and Giloteaux, Ludovic and Zhang, Sheng and Hanson, Maureen R},
title = {Extracellular vesicle proteomics uncovers energy metabolism, complement system, and endoplasmic reticulum stress response dysregulation postexercise in males with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Clinical and translational medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/ctm2.70346},
note = {PubMed: 40465195},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/glass-2025-extracellular-vesicle},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/glass-2025-extracellular-vesicle
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