Huth, Teilah Kathryn, Staines, Donald, Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya · Journal of translational medicine · 2016 · DOI
This study looked at natural killer (NK) cells, which are immune cells that help fight infections and abnormal cells. Researchers found that NK cells in ME/CFS patients have problems with their internal signaling systems—the chemical pathways that tell these cells to attack threats. Specifically, certain types of NK cells showed abnormal activity in proteins called ERK, MEK, and p38 when compared to healthy people. These problems in cell signaling might explain why people with ME/CFS have weaker immune responses.
Reduced NK cell function is a hallmark immunological finding in ME/CFS, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. By identifying specific defects in the MAPK signaling pathway that controls NK cell activation and killing ability, this research provides a mechanistic link between cellular dysfunction and the immune symptoms reported by patients. Understanding these molecular abnormalities may eventually lead to targeted therapies to restore NK cell function.
This study does not prove that MAPK signaling defects cause ME/CFS or that correcting these defects will improve symptoms—it only demonstrates an association. The small sample size and case-control design cannot establish whether these signaling abnormalities are primary (causing disease) or secondary (resulting from disease processes). The study does not clarify whether MAPK dysfunction occurs in other immune cell types or whether it varies across different ME/CFS subgroups.
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
Huth, Teilah Kathryn, Staines, Donald, & Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya (2016). ERK1/2, MEK1/2 and p38 downstream signalling molecules impaired in CD56 dim CD16+ and CD56 bright CD16 dim/- natural killer cells in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-016-0859-z
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-huth-2016-erk1-mek1,
author = {Huth, Teilah Kathryn and Staines, Donald and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya},
title = {ERK1/2, MEK1/2 and p38 downstream signalling molecules impaired in CD56 dim CD16+ and CD56 bright CD16 dim/- natural killer cells in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-016-0859-z},
note = {PubMed: 27098723},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/huth-2016-erk1-mek1},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/huth-2016-erk1-mek1
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