Hochecker Barbara, Matt Katja, Scherer Melanie, Meßmer Alica, von Ardenne Alexander, Bergemann Jörg
Department of Life Sciences, Albstadt-Sigmaringen University of Applied Sciences, Anton-Günther-Strasse 51, 72488 Sigmaringen, Germany.
Von Ardenne Institute of Applied Medical Research GmbH, 01324 Dresden, Germany.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jun 1;26(11):5339. doi: 10.3390/ijms26115339.
The aetiology and pathophysiology of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have not yet been clarified. Its exact diagnosis is also difficult because it has no biomarkers. This lack of knowledge leads to difficulties in treating the disease. In our work, we are attempting to counteract this problem by analysing the central cellular mechanisms in ME/CFS patients and comparing them with those of healthy individuals. This pilot study provides a small glimpse into the journey of nine people with ME/CFS-more specifically, how their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) responded immediately after a session of whole-body hyperthermia (WBH). The clinical effect of WBH has already been investigated in other studies on the treatment of ME/CFS, and these studies have provided valuable insights into its potential benefits. The present study is concerned with the investigation of cellular parameters, namely autophagy, mitochondrial function and mRNA expression, before and after WBH. The results suggest that ME/CFS patients may have higher autophagy-related protein light chain 3 (LC3)-II levels and increased mitochondrial function compared with healthy individuals. A whole-body hyperthermia session could lead to a reduction in LC3-II levels, resulting in a reversion to the levels observed in healthy donors. In the case of mitochondrial parameters, hyperthermia could lead to an increase in the measured parameters. This pilot study is a continuation of a previously published study in which only the isolated cells of ME/CFS patients and a healthy control group were treated with hyperthermia.
肌痛性脑脊髓炎/慢性疲劳综合征（ME/CFS）的病因和病理生理学尚未明确。其确切诊断也很困难，因为它没有生物标志物。这种知识的缺乏导致疾病治疗困难。在我们的工作中，我们试图通过分析ME/CFS患者的中枢细胞机制并将其与健康个体的机制进行比较来解决这个问题。这项初步研究让我们得以一窥9名ME/CFS患者的情况——更具体地说，是他们的外周血单核细胞（PBMC）在全身热疗（WBH）疗程后立即产生的反应。WBH的临床效果在其他关于ME/CFS治疗的研究中已有探讨，这些研究为其潜在益处提供了有价值的见解。本研究关注WBH前后细胞参数的调查，即自噬、线粒体功能和mRNA表达。结果表明，与健康个体相比，ME/CFS患者可能具有更高的自噬相关蛋白轻链3（LC3）-II水平和增强的线粒体功能。一次全身热疗疗程可能导致LC3-II水平降低，使其恢复到健康供体中观察到的水平。在线粒体参数方面，热疗可能导致测量参数增加。这项初步研究是之前发表的一项研究的延续，在那项研究中，仅对ME/CFS患者的分离细胞和一个健康对照组进行了热疗处理。
