Charting the Circulating Proteome in ME/CFS: Cross System Profiling and Mechanistic insights

This article has been Reviewed by the following groups

Read the full article See related articles

Discuss this preprint

Start a discussion What are Sciety discussions?

Listed in

Log in to save this article

Abstract

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating condition often triggered by infections. The underlying mechanism remains poorly understood, and diagnostic markers and effective treatments are presently lacking. We performed aptamer-based serum proteomics in 54 ME/CFS patients and 27 healthy controls and identified 1823 of 7326 aptamers reporting differences between the groups (845 after false discovery rate (FDR) correction). Distinct patterns of tissue- and process-specific changes were seen. There was a broad increase in secreted proteins, while intracellular proteins, e.g. from skeletal muscle, particularly showed reduction. Immune cell-specific signatures indicated immune reprogramming, including a distinct reduction in neutrophil-associated proteins. Focused secretome analysis supported intensified regulatory interactions related to immune activity, inflammation, vasculature, and metabolism. Validation of measurements using antibody-based methods confirmed findings for a selection of proteins. The uncovered serum proteome patterns in ME/CFS patients help clarify a multifaceted pathophysiology and offer a foundation for future therapy and biomarker discovery efforts.

Article activity feed

  1. Strength of evidence

    Reviewer(s): B Lidbury (The Australian National University) | 📗📗📗📗◻️
    S Elahi (University of Alberta) | 📒📒📒◻️◻️
    A Rosén & S Sayyab (Linköping University) | 📗📗📗📗◻️

  2. Anders Rosén, Shumaila Sayyab

    Review 3: "Charting the Circulating Proteome in ME/CFS: Cross System Profiling and Mechanistic insights"

    Reviewers remarked that the study described in the preprint was an ambitious, well-planned and comprehensive profiling of serum proteins that have altered expression in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

  3. Brett Lidbury

    Review 1: "Charting the Circulating Proteome in ME/CFS: Cross System Profiling and Mechanistic insights"

    Reviewers remarked that the study described in the preprint was an ambitious, well-planned and comprehensive profiling of serum proteins that have altered expression in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

  4. Shokrollah Elahi

    Review 2: "Charting the Circulating Proteome in ME/CFS: Cross System Profiling and Mechanistic insights"

    Reviewers remarked that the study described in the preprint was an ambitious, well-planned and comprehensive profiling of serum proteins that have altered expression in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).