Announcing OMF's First ME/CFS Clinical Trial!

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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS) Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia Leading Research. Delivering Hope.Open Medicine Foundation® Canada

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

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T cells and Immunology

STUDY AIM
Beginning in 2016, the aim of this study was to establish the role of T cells and the immune system in ME/CFS by examining the genetic material in T cells - immune cells that identify and kill infected cells.
LEAD INVESTIGATORS
  • Michael Sikora
  • Mark M. Davis, PhD
  • Lars M. Steinmetz, PhD
  • Ronald W. Davis, PhD
UPDATES AND POTENTIAL
Coming soon...

STUDY HYPOTHESIS AND DESCRIPTION

The rationale is that aspects of of genetic material in these cells can inform whether they are actively fighting an infection and potentially what the cause of the infection is.

Many studies have shown that the immune system is affected in ME/CFS patients, e.g., low activity of NK cells, altered levels of cytokines (signaling molecules of the immune system), and the likelihood of a microbial infection preceding the illness. None of these studies are yet to implicate T cells or define their activity in ME/CFS patients.

 OBJECTIVES

3D rendering of a human cell, glowing with energyThe investigation of the immunological basis of ME/CFS will have several parts that overall will help determine if ME/CFS is an autoimmune disease and what immune factors may be triggering ME/CFS or sustaining it as a chronic disease.

Dr. Mark Davis’ team is investigating the clonal expansion of T cells in ME/CFS, including what they might be targeting – viruses, bacteria, or self (autoimmune).

Dr. Ron Davis’ team has invented a highly accurate, cost-effective method for HLA gene sequencing and a very sensitive method for detecting viral DNA as a sign of viral infections, which he is using in this project.

Dr. Lars Steinmetz’ team has developed effective methods for sequencing RNA from single T cells, which they are using to understand how T cell behavior may be different in ME/CFS.

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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.
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.
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.
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.