Kavyani, Bahar, Ahn, Seong Beom, Missailidis, Daniel et al. · Molecular neurobiology · 2024 · DOI
This study found that ME/CFS patients have imbalances in a particular chemical pathway in their body (the kynurenine pathway) that appears connected to inflammation and symptom severity. The researchers discovered that higher levels of one early chemical in this pathway correlated with worse symptoms, while lower levels of later chemicals in the pathway might affect how cells produce energy. Interestingly, they also found that five of the most significantly changed proteins in ME/CFS patients are involved in gut health, suggesting the gut microbiome may play an important role in the disease.
This research identifies specific, measurable biological abnormalities in ME/CFS that could eventually lead to diagnostic biomarkers and targeted treatments. The novel finding linking gut health proteins to ME/CFS pathology opens an entirely new avenue for investigation and potential intervention, particularly given growing evidence that the microbiome influences systemic inflammation and the kynurenine pathway.
This study demonstrates associations between biomarkers and symptoms but does not prove that kynurenine pathway dysregulation causes ME/CFS symptoms or that gut microbiome alterations are the primary driver of disease. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality, temporal relationships, or whether observed changes are primary pathogenic mechanisms versus secondary consequences of illness. Additionally, plasma biomarker levels may not fully reflect tissue-specific or compartmentalized processes.
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
Kavyani, Bahar, Ahn, Seong Beom, Missailidis, Daniel, Annesley, Sarah J, Fisher, Paul R, Schloeffel, Richard, et al. (2024). Dysregulation of the Kynurenine Pathway, Cytokine Expression Pattern, and Proteomics Profile Link to Symptomology in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).. Molecular neurobiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-023-03784-z
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kavyani-2024-dysregulation-kynurenine,
author = {Kavyani, Bahar and Ahn, Seong Beom and Missailidis, Daniel and Annesley, Sarah J and Fisher, Paul R and Schloeffel, Richard and Guillemin, Gilles J and Lovejoy, David B and Heng, Benjamin},
title = {Dysregulation of the Kynurenine Pathway, Cytokine Expression Pattern, and Proteomics Profile Link to Symptomology in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).},
journal = {Molecular neurobiology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1007/s12035-023-03784-z},
note = {PubMed: 38015302},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kavyani-2024-dysregulation-kynurenine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kavyani-2024-dysregulation-kynurenine
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