Immune T cells become exhausted in chronic fatigue syndrome patients

[Sushi]

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1066876

ITHACA, N.Y. – Chronic fatigue syndrome creates conditions where pathogen-killing immune T cells become exhausted, according to a new Cornell University study.

The study’s authors knew the immune system was dysregulated in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) but wondered which parts shift with the condition. A systematic exploration revealed that key CD8+ T cells displayed one of the most pronounced signatures of dysregulation, with signs of constant stimulation that lead to an exhausted state, a condition that is well-studied in cancer.

“This is an important finding for ME/CFS because now we can examine the T cells more carefully, and hopefully by looking in the exhausted cells we can start to get hints as to what they are responding to,” said Andrew Grimson, professor of molecular biology and co-corresponding author of the study. Maureen Hanson, professor of molecular biology and genetics, is the other corresponding author.

 

[southwestforests]

With it being half past midnight here, this post is basically saying,
"Good morning! Your body is even more defective than you knew."

 

[Wishful]

On S4ME someone pointed out that less activity and less intensive activity leads to less turnover of immune cells. So, the finding might just be signs of being less active. Less active people have more elderly t-cells hobbling around, needing lots of rest breaks.

 

[Sushi]

This confirms Dr. Liisa Selin’s research: https://www.umassmed.edu/news/news-...udy-links-between-viral-infections-and-mecfs/

“We are finding that an aberrant response to an immunological trigger, like an infection, results in a dysregulated immune system that is partially immunosuppressed due to exhaustion of the CD8 T cells, which fight infection,” said Selin. “A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms associated with the generation and modulation of immunological T cell memory will lead to a better understanding of how the immune system not only controls viral infections but can also cause immune-mediated pathology.”