Sasso, Etianne Martini, Muraki, Katsuhiko, Eaton-Fitch, Natalie et al. · Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2022 · DOI
This study examined a specific ion channel called TRPM3 in immune cells from patients with ME/CFS and long COVID, comparing them to healthy people. Researchers found that both ME/CFS and long COVID patients had similar problems with how this ion channel functions. The findings suggest that broken ion channels might be part of why these conditions cause long-lasting fatigue and other symptoms.
This research provides molecular evidence that post-COVID-19 and ME/CFS may share a common biological mechanism involving ion channel dysfunction. Identifying shared pathophysiology could accelerate development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments for both conditions, and may help clinicians understand why some COVID-19 patients develop long-term illness.
This study does not prove that TRPM3 dysfunction causes ME/CFS or long COVID—it only shows an association in a small sample of patients. The findings are limited to one specific immune cell type (NK cells) and may not reflect what happens throughout the entire body. Furthermore, the study cannot determine whether TRPM3 problems are a primary driver of illness or a secondary consequence of the disease process.
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
Sasso, Etianne Martini, Muraki, Katsuhiko, Eaton-Fitch, Natalie, Smith, Peter, Lesslar, Olivia Ly, Deed, Gary, et al. (2022). Transient receptor potential melastatin 3 dysfunction in post COVID-19 condition and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients.. Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.). https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-022-00528-y
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-sasso-2022-transient-receptor,
author = {Sasso, Etianne Martini and Muraki, Katsuhiko and Eaton-Fitch, Natalie and Smith, Peter and Lesslar, Olivia Ly and Deed, Gary and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya},
title = {Transient receptor potential melastatin 3 dysfunction in post COVID-19 condition and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients.},
journal = {Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.)},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1186/s10020-022-00528-y},
note = {PubMed: 35986236},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sasso-2022-transient-receptor},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sasso-2022-transient-receptor
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