Maes, Michael, Bosmans, Eugene, Kubera, Marta · Neuro endocrinology letters · 2015
This study examined immune cells called CD8+ T lymphocytes in ME/CFS patients and found they show higher levels of activation markers (CD38 and HLA-DR) compared to healthy people and those with regular fatigue. The researchers measured 139 ME/CFS patients, 65 with chronic fatigue, and 40 healthy controls, finding distinct immune patterns in ME/CFS that don't appear to be directly linked to inflammation, gut problems, or oxidative stress.
This study identifies potential immune biomarkers specific to ME/CFS that could help differentiate it from other fatigue conditions and may guide development of subgroup-specific treatments. The finding that CD8+ activation occurs independently of classic inflammatory pathways suggests ME/CFS involves distinct immune mechanisms worth targeting therapeutically.
This cross-sectional study cannot establish causation or whether CD8+ activation causes ME/CFS symptoms or is a consequence of the disease. The lack of association with oxidative stress and inflammation biomarkers doesn't exclude these as contributors in subsets of patients, nor does it prove viral reactivation is occurring—only that it may warrant investigation.
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
Maes, Michael, Bosmans, Eugene, & Kubera, Marta (2015). Increased expression of activation antigens on CD8+ T lymphocytes in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: inverse associations with lowered CD19+ expression and CD4+/CD8+ ratio, but no associations with (auto)immune, leaky gut, oxidative and nitrosative stress biomarkers.. Neuro endocrinology letters. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26707044/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-maes-2015-increased-expression,
author = {Maes, Michael and Bosmans, Eugene and Kubera, Marta},
title = {Increased expression of activation antigens on CD8+ T lymphocytes in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: inverse associations with lowered CD19+ expression and CD4+/CD8+ ratio, but no associations with (auto)immune, leaky gut, oxidative and nitrosative stress biomarkers.},
journal = {Neuro endocrinology letters},
year = {2015},
note = {PubMed: 26707044},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maes-2015-increased-expression},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maes-2015-increased-expression
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