Wang, Zheng, Waldman, Michelle F, Basavanhally, Tara J et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2022 · DOI
Researchers tested blood samples from 166 ME/CFS patients and 83 healthy people to look for immune system clues that might explain the disease. They found that six specific genes related to immune function were more active in patients with severe, bedridden ME/CFS compared to those with milder disease. The study suggests these genes could potentially be used as biomarkers to identify how severe someone's ME/CFS is and might point toward new treatments.
This study provides potential biological markers that could help clinicians differentiate disease severity in ME/CFS—a condition currently lacking any diagnostic test. The identification of immune genes similar to those dysregulated in other autoimmune diseases opens new avenues for understanding ME/CFS pathophysiology and developing targeted treatments.
This study does not establish that these gene expression patterns cause ME/CFS severity; it only shows association. The study cannot determine whether gene upregulation is a cause, consequence, or marker of disease. The small number of viral positives does not rule out viral triggers in other patient subgroups, and findings require validation in larger, prospective studies 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
Wang, Zheng, Waldman, Michelle F, Basavanhally, Tara J, Jacobs, Aviva R, Lopez, Gonzalo, Perichon, Regis Y, et al. (2022). Autoimmune gene expression profiling of fingerstick whole blood in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-022-03682-3
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-wang-2022-autoimmune-gene,
author = {Wang, Zheng and Waldman, Michelle F and Basavanhally, Tara J and Jacobs, Aviva R and Lopez, Gonzalo and Perichon, Regis Y and Ma, Johnny J and Mackenzie, Elyse M and Healy, James B and Wang, Yixin and Hersey, Sarah A},
title = {Autoimmune gene expression profiling of fingerstick whole blood in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-022-03682-3},
note = {PubMed: 36284352},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wang-2022-autoimmune-gene},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wang-2022-autoimmune-gene
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