Nguyen, T, Staines, D, Nilius, B et al. · Biological research · 2016 · DOI
This study looked at special channels called TRPM3 on immune cells (natural killer cells and B cells) that help control calcium flow inside cells. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS have fewer of these channels on certain immune cells and problems with calcium movement compared to healthy people. This suggests that broken calcium control in immune cells might play a role in ME/CFS, though much more research is needed to understand what this means for the illness.
This is the first study to identify and characterize TRPM3 channels on immune cells in ME/CFS, opening a new avenue for understanding immune dysfunction in the disease. Since calcium signaling is critical for immune cell function, defects in this pathway could help explain why ME/CFS patients have persistent immune abnormalities and poor immune responses.
This study does not prove that TRPM3 deficiency causes ME/CFS, only that it is associated with the disease. It does not establish whether reduced TRPM3 is a primary cause, a consequence of illness, or a marker of something else going wrong. The findings need replication in larger studies and functional validation to understand clinical relevance.
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
Nguyen, T, Staines, D, Nilius, B, Smith, P, & Marshall-Gradisnik, S (2016). Novel identification and characterisation of Transient receptor potential melastatin 3 ion channels on Natural Killer cells and B lymphocytes: effects on cell signalling in Chronic fatigue syndrome/Myalgic encephalomyelitis patients.. Biological research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40659-016-0087-2
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-nguyen-2016-novel-identification,
author = {Nguyen, T and Staines, D and Nilius, B and Smith, P and Marshall-Gradisnik, S},
title = {Novel identification and characterisation of Transient receptor potential melastatin 3 ion channels on Natural Killer cells and B lymphocytes: effects on cell signalling in Chronic fatigue syndrome/Myalgic encephalomyelitis patients.},
journal = {Biological research},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1186/s40659-016-0087-2},
note = {PubMed: 27245705},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nguyen-2016-novel-identification},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nguyen-2016-novel-identification
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