STUDY HYPOTHESIS AND DESCRIPTION
A number of anomalies in B cells have been observed in the few studies conducted on ME/CFS patients. We want to expand this area of research to better understand these changes and determine if there are any potential anomalies in antibody production or metabolism that could be driving altered immune response.
STUDY DESIGN
There are several studies involved in this multi-site collaborative effort:
- Monitoring metabolism and CD marker changes in fresh ME/CFS B cells compared to healthy B cells during proliferative (via activation) and non-proliferative periods.
- Monitoring metabolism changes in immortalized B cells from ME/CFS and healthy controls during proliferation.
- Observing B cell subsets and antibodies in bone marrow from ME/CFS patients compared to healthy and disease controls.