Sterling, Kathryn G, Dodd, Griffin Kutler, Alhamdi, Shatha et al. · International journal of molecular sciences · 2022 · DOI
This review article examines the connection between gut bacteria, immunity, and the brain in diseases like ME/CFS. The authors explain that the bacteria in our gut can communicate with our brain through chemical signals and nerves, but this communication can be disrupted in certain illnesses. They focus on how the immune system in the gut lining controls which bacteria thrive there, and how changes in these bacterial communities might contribute to neuroimmune diseases.
Understanding how gut bacteria and mucosal immunity are altered in ME/CFS could reveal new therapeutic targets, as these systems directly influence neuroinflammation and symptom severity. This review consolidates evidence linking intestinal barrier dysfunction, immune dysregulation, and dysbiosis—three hallmarks often observed in ME/CFS—into a unified mechanistic framework that may guide future research and treatment development.
This review does not prove that dysbiosis causes ME/CFS or that restoring specific bacteria will cure the disease; most evidence is correlational rather than causally mechanistic. The review does not establish which mucosal immune changes are primary versus secondary consequences of ME/CFS pathology, nor does it provide patient-level data demonstrating clinical benefit from microbiota-targeted interventions.
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
Sterling, Kathryn G, Dodd, Griffin Kutler, Alhamdi, Shatha, Asimenios, Peter G, Dagda, Ruben K, De Meirleir, Kenny L, et al. (2022). Mucosal Immunity and the Gut-Microbiota-Brain-Axis in Neuroimmune Disease.. International journal of molecular sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113328
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-sterling-2022-mucosal-immunity,
author = {Sterling, Kathryn G and Dodd, Griffin Kutler and Alhamdi, Shatha and Asimenios, Peter G and Dagda, Ruben K and De Meirleir, Kenny L and Hudig, Dorothy and Lombardi, Vincent C},
title = {Mucosal Immunity and the Gut-Microbiota-Brain-Axis in Neuroimmune Disease.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3390/ijms232113328},
note = {PubMed: 36362150},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sterling-2022-mucosal-immunity},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/sterling-2022-mucosal-immunity
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.