Pihur, Vasyl, Datta, Somnath, Datta, Susmita · Bioinformation · 2011 · DOI
Researchers combined multiple types of biological data from ME/CFS patients and healthy controls to identify genes that may contribute to ME/CFS and its severity. They found 11 genes of potential importance, with one gene called WASF3 standing out as possibly influencing fatigue through a specific cellular pathway in the brain.
This work represents an important multi-omics approach to understanding ME/CFS molecular mechanisms. Identifying genes like WASF3 and specific signaling pathways (p38 MAPK) provides potential targets for future diagnostic and therapeutic development, moving beyond single-gene or single-platform analyses.
This study does not prove that WASF3 or the identified genes directly cause ME/CFS—it identifies associations that require functional validation in laboratory and clinical studies. Meta-analyses cannot establish causation, and the findings must be replicated in independent cohorts with clearly defined case definitions before clinical application.
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 →
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Primary citation
Pihur, Vasyl, Datta, Somnath, & Datta, Susmita (2011). Meta analysis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome through integration of clinical, gene expression, SNP and proteomic data.. Bioinformation. https://doi.org/10.6026/97320630006120
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pihur-2011-meta-analysis,
author = {Pihur, Vasyl and Datta, Somnath and Datta, Susmita},
title = {Meta analysis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome through integration of clinical, gene expression, SNP and proteomic data.},
journal = {Bioinformation},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.6026/97320630006120},
note = {PubMed: 21584188},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pihur-2011-meta-analysis},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pihur-2011-meta-analysis
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