Mohan, Ketha V K, Devadas, Krishnakumar, Sainath Rao, Shilpakala et al. · PloS one · 2012 · DOI
This study looked at how a virus called XMRV affects the behavior of microRNAs—tiny molecules that control how genes are expressed—in different types of human cells grown in the laboratory. Researchers infected four different cell types with XMRV and measured changes in microRNA patterns at different time points. They found that certain microRNAs changed in response to the virus infection.
Understanding how XMRV alters cellular microRNA expression could help clarify the virus's potential mechanisms in CFS pathogenesis and provide molecular biomarkers for XMRV infection. This work bridges virology and gene regulation research relevant to investigating viral triggers of ME/CFS.
This in vitro study does not prove XMRV causes ME/CFS in patients, nor does it demonstrate these microRNA changes occur in infected humans or contribute to disease symptoms. The relevance of these cultured cell findings to the complex pathophysiology of ME/CFS remains unknown. Additionally, XMRV's actual association with ME/CFS has been largely refuted by subsequent research.
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 →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →