Sasso, Etianne Martini, Muraki, Katsuhiko, Eaton-Fitch, Natalie et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2024 · DOI
This study looked at a tiny channel (called TRPM3) that sits on immune cells called NK cells, which help fight infections. Researchers found that both ME/CFS and post-COVID patients have a broken version of this channel. Importantly, they discovered that a drug called naltrexone (NTX) could fix this broken channel in lab-grown cells from post-COVID patients, suggesting it might help real patients feel better.
This study identifies a shared biological mechanism (TRPM3 dysfunction) between ME/CFS and post-COVID condition, suggesting that knowledge from ME/CFS research can directly inform post-COVID therapies. The finding that naltrexone restores ion channel function in vitro provides a potential molecular basis for why this drug may help patients and offers a measurable biomarker for treatment response. For ME/CFS patients, this reinforces the biological validity of TRPM3 dysfunction as a therapeutic target.
This study does not prove that naltrexone will actually help post-COVID or ME/CFS patients in clinical practice, as it only tested cells in a laboratory dish for 24 hours. It does not establish that TRPM3 dysfunction is the sole cause of symptoms in either condition, only that it is associated with both diseases. The study cannot address whether the ion channel restoration translates to functional immune recovery or symptom improvement in living patients.
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, Jeremijenko, Andrew, Griffin, Paul, et al. (2024). Investigation into the restoration of TRPM3 ion channel activity in post-COVID-19 condition: a potential pharmacotherapeutic target.. Frontiers in immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1264702
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-sasso-2024-investigation-into,
author = {Sasso, Etianne Martini and Muraki, Katsuhiko and Eaton-Fitch, Natalie and Smith, Peter and Jeremijenko, Andrew and Griffin, Paul and Marshall-Gradisnik, Sonya},
title = {Investigation into the restoration of TRPM3 ion channel activity in post-COVID-19 condition: a potential pharmacotherapeutic target.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2024.1264702},
note = {PubMed: 38765011},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sasso-2024-investigation-into},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sasso-2024-investigation-into
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