Zheng, Daisi, Li, Xiaolong, Wang, Peicheng et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2024 · DOI
Researchers discovered that ME/CFS and lupus (SLE) may share similar immune problems, particularly involving immune cells called monocytes that become overactive and produce excess inflammation. By studying genes and immune cells from both diseases, they identified five key inflammatory proteins that appear important in fatigue, and they predict that certain existing drugs—particularly N-acetyl-L-cysteine and camptothecin—might help reduce this inflammation.
This study addresses a critical gap by proposing a shared biological mechanism for fatigue across two conditions affecting millions globally. Identifying monocytic dysregulation as a common pathway could enable development of targeted treatments and help validate ME/CFS as a distinct biological disorder with measurable immune abnormalities.
This study does not prove that these inflammatory proteins directly cause fatigue, only that they are associated with both diseases. The in vitro cell model may not fully reflect the complex biological environment in living patients, and computational drug predictions require experimental validation before clinical use.
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
Zheng, Daisi, Li, Xiaolong, Wang, Peicheng, Zhu, Qingmiao, Huang, Zhiyan, & Zhao, Ting (2024). Exploring the shared mechanism of fatigue between systemic lupus erythematosus and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: monocytic dysregulation and drug repurposing.. Frontiers in immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1440922
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-zheng-2024-exploring-shared,
author = {Zheng, Daisi and Li, Xiaolong and Wang, Peicheng and Zhu, Qingmiao and Huang, Zhiyan and Zhao, Ting},
title = {Exploring the shared mechanism of fatigue between systemic lupus erythematosus and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: monocytic dysregulation and drug repurposing.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2024.1440922},
note = {PubMed: 39845969},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zheng-2024-exploring-shared},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/zheng-2024-exploring-shared
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