Nguyen, Thao, Johnston, Samantha, Chacko, Anu et al. · Asian Pacific journal of allergy and immunology · 2017 · DOI
This study looked at immune cells called mast cells in the blood of people with ME/CFS and compared them to healthy people. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients—especially those with severe illness—had more mast cells and these cells showed different activation patterns. Mast cells are known to release chemicals that cause inflammation, so understanding them better could help explain some ME/CFS symptoms.
Mast cells release multiple inflammatory mediators implicated in ME/CFS symptomatology, and identifying abnormal mast cell phenotypes provides potential biological markers for understanding disease mechanisms. These findings could eventually support development of targeted therapies if mast cell dysfunction is confirmed as causally relevant to ME/CFS pathology.
This study does not prove that mast cell abnormalities cause ME/CFS symptoms, only that they are associated with the disease. The research also does not establish whether these mast cell changes are primary drivers of pathology or secondary consequences of the illness. Long-term follow-up and functional studies are needed to determine clinical significance.
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, Thao, Johnston, Samantha, Chacko, Anu, Gibson, Damien, Cepon, Julia, Smith, Peter, et al. (2017). Novel characterisation of mast cell phenotypes from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis patients.. Asian Pacific journal of allergy and immunology. https://doi.org/10.12932/ap0771
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-nguyen-2017-novel-characterisation,
author = {Nguyen, Thao and Johnston, Samantha and Chacko, Anu and Gibson, Damien and Cepon, Julia and Smith, Peter and Staines, Donald and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya},
title = {Novel characterisation of mast cell phenotypes from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis patients.},
journal = {Asian Pacific journal of allergy and immunology},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.12932/ap0771},
note = {PubMed: 27362406},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nguyen-2017-novel-characterisation},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/nguyen-2017-novel-characterisation
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