Landi, Abdolamir, Broadhurst, David, Vernon, Suzanne D et al. · Cytokine · 2016 · DOI
Researchers measured 34 different immune system proteins in blood samples from 100 ME/CFS patients and 79 healthy controls. They found that three specific immune proteins—IL-16, IL-7, and VEGF-A—were significantly lower in ME/CFS patients. This pattern was different from what is seen in other chronic diseases with similar fatigue symptoms, suggesting it may be unique to ME/CFS.
This study identifies a potential blood-based signature specific to ME/CFS that distinguishes it from other diseases with chronic fatigue. Finding biomarkers could eventually help with diagnosis and may provide insights into underlying immune dysfunction mechanisms in ME/CFS. The correlation of three biomarkers as a cluster suggests a coherent biological pathway that warrants further investigation.
This study does not prove that low IL-16, IL-7, and VEGF-A cause ME/CFS—it only shows an association. It does not explain why these proteins are reduced or what biological consequences result from their reduction. Being a single cross-sectional study, results require replication in other ME/CFS cohorts before conclusions about disease-specificity are confirmed.
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
Landi, Abdolamir, Broadhurst, David, Vernon, Suzanne D, Tyrrell, D Lorne J, & Houghton, Michael (2016). Reductions in circulating levels of IL-16, IL-7 and VEGF-A in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. Cytokine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cyto.2015.11.018
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-landi-2016-reductions-circulating,
author = {Landi, Abdolamir and Broadhurst, David and Vernon, Suzanne D and Tyrrell, D Lorne J and Houghton, Michael},
title = {Reductions in circulating levels of IL-16, IL-7 and VEGF-A in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Cytokine},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1016/j.cyto.2015.11.018},
note = {PubMed: 26615570},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/landi-2016-reductions-circulating},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/landi-2016-reductions-circulating
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