Rostami-Afshari, Bita, Elremaly, Wesam, Franco, Anita et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2025 · DOI
Researchers identified a protein called SMPDL3B that appears to be elevated in people with ME/CFS and linked to symptom severity. This protein is found in the blood at higher levels in ME patients, particularly in women, and seems to be influenced by hormones and immune system dysfunction. The study also tested two existing diabetes medications (vildagliptin and saxagliptin) in the laboratory and found they could potentially help restore balance to this protein, suggesting a possible new treatment approach.
This research identifies a measurable biological marker that correlates with ME/CFS severity, potentially enabling better disease assessment and patient stratification. The finding that existing medications might modify SMPDL3B activity offers a promising lead for repurposing approved drugs to treat immune dysfunction in ME, which could accelerate drug development timelines.
This study does not prove that SMPDL3B elevation causes ME/CFS symptoms—it only shows correlation. The in vitro drug testing demonstrates theoretical potential only; it does not establish that vildagliptin or saxagliptin will be effective or safe when given to ME patients clinically. Sex differences observed may reflect hormonal influences rather than fundamental disease mechanisms.
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
Rostami-Afshari, Bita, Elremaly, Wesam, Franco, Anita, Elbakry, Mohamed, Akoume, Marie-Yvonne, Boufaied, Ines, et al. (2025). SMPDL3B a novel biomarker and therapeutic target in myalgic encephalomyelitis.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-025-06829-0
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rostami-afshari-2025-smpdl3b-novel,
author = {Rostami-Afshari, Bita and Elremaly, Wesam and Franco, Anita and Elbakry, Mohamed and Akoume, Marie-Yvonne and Boufaied, Ines and Moezzi, Atefeh and Leveau, Corinne and Rompré, Pierre and Godbout, Christian and Mella, Olav and Fluge, Øystein and Moreau, Alain},
title = {SMPDL3B a novel biomarker and therapeutic target in myalgic encephalomyelitis.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-025-06829-0},
note = {PubMed: 40624584},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rostami-afshari-2025-smpdl3b-novel},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rostami-afshari-2025-smpdl3b-novel
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