Mensah, Fane F K, Armstrong, Christopher W, Reddy, Venkat et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2018 · DOI
This study looked at a specific type of immune cell marker called CD24 found on B cells (infection-fighting cells) in ME/CFS patients. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients have more CD24+ B cells than healthy people, and these cells behave differently when it comes to energy use and cell survival. The findings suggest that ME/CFS may involve problems with how B cells handle energy metabolism.
Understanding the link between abnormal B cell markers and energy metabolism in ME/CFS could help explain the disease's hallmark fatigue and post-exertional malaise. This research identifies CD24 as a potential biomarker and suggests that B cell dysfunction may be connected to mitochondrial and metabolic abnormalities in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that CD24+ B cell dysfunction causes ME/CFS or that correcting this abnormality will treat the disease. The in vitro findings may not fully reflect what happens in patients' bodies, and correlation between CD24 expression and metabolic markers does not establish causation. The study cannot determine whether these B cell changes are a cause, consequence, or independent feature of ME/CFS.
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
Mensah, Fane F K, Armstrong, Christopher W, Reddy, Venkat, Bansal, Amolak S, Berkovitz, Saul, Leandro, Maria J, et al. (2018). CD24 Expression and B Cell Maturation Shows a Novel Link With Energy Metabolism: Potential Implications for Patients With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Frontiers in immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02421
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-mensah-2018-cd24-expression,
author = {Mensah, Fane F K and Armstrong, Christopher W and Reddy, Venkat and Bansal, Amolak S and Berkovitz, Saul and Leandro, Maria J and Cambridge, Geraldine},
title = {CD24 Expression and B Cell Maturation Shows a Novel Link With Energy Metabolism: Potential Implications for Patients With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2018.02421},
note = {PubMed: 30405620},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mensah-2018-cd24-expression},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mensah-2018-cd24-expression
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