Rodrigues, Lucas S, da Silva Nali, Luiz H, Leal, Cibele O D et al. · Auto- immunity highlights · 2019 · DOI
This study looked at whether certain viral fragments called HERV-K and HERV-W were more active in the blood of ME/CFS patients. Researchers found that HERV-K was elevated in people with moderate ME/CFS but not in those with severe disease, while HERV-W showed no difference. These findings suggest that viral elements may play a role in ME/CFS, though much more research is needed to understand what this means.
This study provides preliminary evidence that endogenous retroviruses may be involved in ME/CFS biology, potentially identifying new biomarkers or disease mechanisms. If HERV-K activity is confirmed in future research, it could lead to better diagnostic tests and targeted treatments for ME/CFS patients.
This study does not prove that HERV-K causes ME/CFS or explain why it is elevated in moderate disease but not severe disease. It also does not establish a direct functional relationship between HERV expression and disease symptoms, and findings from a single cross-sectional study require replication 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 →
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
Rodrigues, Lucas S, da Silva Nali, Luiz H, Leal, Cibele O D, Sabino, Ester C, Lacerda, Eliana M, Kingdon, Caroline C, et al. (2019). HERV-K and HERV-W transcriptional activity in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. Auto- immunity highlights. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13317-019-0122-8
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rodrigues-2019-herv-herv,
author = {Rodrigues, Lucas S and da Silva Nali, Luiz H and Leal, Cibele O D and Sabino, Ester C and Lacerda, Eliana M and Kingdon, Caroline C and Nacul, Luis and Romano, Camila M},
title = {HERV-K and HERV-W transcriptional activity in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Auto- immunity highlights},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1186/s13317-019-0122-8},
note = {PubMed: 32257068},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rodrigues-2019-herv-herv},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rodrigues-2019-herv-herv
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