Driving research of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS),
Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia and Post COVID .

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Characterizing B cells in ME/CFS

STUDY AIM
This study aims to broadly evaluate B cell subsets, metabolism, viability, receptors, and antibodies in people with ME/CFS.
LEAD INVESTIGATORS
  • Christopher Armstrong, PhD
  • Paul Gooley, PhD
  • Jo Cambridge, PhD
  • Ben Wendel, PhD
UPDATES AND POTENTIAL

B cells secrete antibodies and are a major part of the adaptive immune system. Anomalies in B cell metabolism, CD markers and antibodies have been observed in ME/CFS. This may be due to something inherently disruptive within the B cells themselves.

Preliminary studies using immunoadsorption and/or plasmapheresis to remove the antibodies show positive effects in at least a subpopulation of ME/CFS patients.

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.

OBJECTIVES

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.
NMR Metabolomics
NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) is an instrument/tool used to perform metabolic studies, metabolic profiling, and metabolomics in biofluids and tissues for more than 40 years using magnetic fields. There is a very close connection between metabolic measurements and NMR. This connection has flourished because of NMR’s many unique strengths for characterizing complex mixtures’ chemical composition.
Proteomics
The large-scale study of proteins, which are large, complex molecules that are required for structure, function, and regulation of the human body's tissues and organs.
Microvesicles and viral sequencing
Microvesicles are a type of extracellular vesicle that is released from the cell membrane. Vesicles are small, fluid-filled sacs or vacuoles within the body. Sequencing is a technique used to determine the exact sequence of bases (A, C, G, and T) in a DNA (or viral) molecule.
Micro RNA
Cells use Micro RNA to control whether a particular gene is making too much, too little or the normal amount of its protein at a particular time.
Autoantibodies
Antibodies that react with self-molecules and that occur in healthy individuals and are referred to as natural antibodies or autoantibodies.
Extracellular DNA for viral reactivation and Mitochondrial DNA
exDNA (extracellular DNA), exDNA is often secreted actively and is used to perform several tasks, thereby offering an attractive target or tool for biotechnological, medical, environmental, and general microbiological applications. Viruses are intracellular parasites that rely to a significant extent on the host cell for replication. Viral reactivation occurs when an active replication of the viral genome results in a lytic (degradation of the cell) infection characterized by the release of new progeny (descendant) virus particles.
Immune cell profiling
The immune system has many important regulatory roles in disease development and progression. Given the emergence of effective immune therapies, reliable predictors of response are needed. Immune cell profiling determines response by evaluating immune cell populations from treated and untreated samples. For our purposes, we will evaluate the white blood cell response to the viral infection using a process called “Cytof.”
Leukocyte Genomics
A leukocyte is a colorless cell circulating in the blood and body fluids and is involved in counteracting foreign substances and disease. A genome is all genetic material of an organism. Genomics is a biology field focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. Therefore, leukocyte genomics is the study of all genetic material of leukocytes.
Metabolomics
Metabolomics is a way to study metabolism – that is, through measuring amounts of the metabolites (small molecules) produced by our bodies as we convert food into energy and other molecules that our cells need to survive. Metabolomics technology is ‘large-scale,’ meaning that several thousand metabolites can be measured from a single sample of e.g., blood or urine.