Zhao, Hai, Zhang, Jian, Qian, Ning et al. · Zygote (Cambridge, England) · 2021 · DOI
This study looked at how ME/CFS affects pregnancy in mice, focusing on how the placenta (which nourishes a developing baby) forms and functions. Researchers found that mice with CFS had more pregnancy complications, abnormal placentas, and increased cellular damage from oxidative stress (a harmful buildup of unstable molecules). The study suggests that two biological processes—oxidative stress and a disrupted cellular communication pathway called Wnt/β-catenin—may be responsible for these pregnancy problems.
This research addresses an understudied but clinically significant area: reproductive health complications in ME/CFS patients, particularly pregnancy outcomes. Understanding the biological mechanisms—oxidative stress and pathway dysfunction—could eventually inform protective interventions for pregnant individuals with ME/CFS and provide insight into why the condition affects reproductive function more broadly.
This study does not establish that these findings occur in human ME/CFS pregnancies, as mouse models have important biological differences from humans. It demonstrates association and proposed mechanisms in an animal model but does not prove causation in humans, nor does it identify which interventions might prevent or reverse these placental abnormalities. The study also cannot determine whether these placental changes are the primary driver of pregnancy complications or a secondary effect.
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
Zhao, Hai, Zhang, Jian, Qian, Ning, Wu, Shuguang, Wu, Yanjun, & Yao, Gang (2021). Oxidative stress caused by a dysregulated Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway is involved in abnormal placenta formation in pregnant mice with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Zygote (Cambridge, England). https://doi.org/10.1017/S096719942000057X
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-zhao-2021-oxidative-stress,
author = {Zhao, Hai and Zhang, Jian and Qian, Ning and Wu, Shuguang and Wu, Yanjun and Yao, Gang},
title = {Oxidative stress caused by a dysregulated Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway is involved in abnormal placenta formation in pregnant mice with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Zygote (Cambridge, England)},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1017/S096719942000057X},
note = {PubMed: 33054899},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zhao-2021-oxidative-stress},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zhao-2021-oxidative-stress
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