Journal of IiME Volume 6 Issue 1 (June 2012) and phenotypes are possible diagnostic biomarkers for (ME)CFS” (Ekua Brenu et al. Journal of Translational Medicine 2010:8:1). 2010 “(ME)CFS is a complex illness….Instead of searching for a deficiency in any single marker, we propose that (ME)CFS is associated with a profound imbalance in the regulation of immune function. To identify these imbalances we apply network analysis to the co-expression of 16 cytokines in (ME)CFS subjects and healthy controls….These showed highly attenuated Th1 and Th17 immune responses in (ME)CFS. High Th2 marker expression…pointed to an established Th2 inflammatory milieu” (Broderick G, Fuite J, Kreitz A, Vernon SD, Klimas N, Fletcher MA. Brain Behav Immun 2010; 3rd May: Epub ahead of print). 2010 (ME)CFS studies from our laboratory and others described decreased natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) and elevated proportion of lymphocytes expressing the activation marker DPPIV also known as CD26. However, neither of these assays…are widely accepted for the diagnosis or prognosis of (ME)CFS. This study sought to determine if NKCC or DPPIV/CD26 have diagnostic accuracy for (ME)CFS….Cytotoxic function of NK cells for 176 (ME)CFS subjects was significantly lower than in the 230 controls….By ROC (receiver operating curve) analysis, NKCC and three methods of measuring DPPIC/CD26 examined in this study had potential as biomarkers for (ME)CFS….Abnormalities in DPPIV/CD26 and in NK cell function have particular relevance to the possible role of infection in the initiation and/or the persistence of (ME)CFS….The predominance of evidence indicating that people with (ME)CFS have decreased function of NK cells and abnormal activation of T and NK cells was supported by this study….The findings of this study give support to the concept that cause and/or the pathophysiology of (ME)CFS are related to infection…The spectre of infectious disease further emphasises the significance of this research to public health” (MA Fletcher, Gordon Broderick, Nancy G Klimas et al. PloS ONE 5(5): e10817. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010817). Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) 2010 On 16th June 2010 Professor Nancy Klimas was quoted in an interview: “The low NK cell function group are sicker, have more inflammation, more evidence of viral reactivation….NK cells are important, but they also reflect cytotoxic cell function – and that may be even more important. Having said that, most (ME)CFS patients have poor NK cell function; there is poor and poorer still”. When asked by the interviewer: “Is natural killer cell dysfunction in ME/CFS the T-helper cell dysfunction of AIDS and if so, why doesn’t it get more attention?”, Professor Klimas replied: “Well, you have to agree that having so many people die of AIDS was impossible to ignore….my (ME)CFS patients are much more ill day to day, and yes, some of them die from (ME)CFS related conditions. But the misery quotient in (ME)CFS is terribly high day in and day out” (http://phoenixrising.me/archives/1606). 2010 “Participants with (ME)CFS were grouped into viral and non-viral onset fatigue categories and were assessed for differential immunological marker expression….The viral in comparison to the nonviral group demonstrated significant elevations in several Th1 type subsets….The viral group demonstrated a pattern of activation that differed from that of the group with a non-viral aetiology….These findings imply that the homeostatic mechanism responsible for the regulation of the Th 1 (cell-mediated) and Th2 (humoral) immune responses is disturbed in (ME)CFS….In this sample, the viral group demonstrated elevations in this and the CD4+ and CD2+CD26+ subsets, which suggests an on-going process of systemic inflammation. The present findings support the premise that reductions in the efficacy with which natural killer cells are able to eliminate target cells, concomitant with elevations in activated T-cell subsets, may contribute to the maintenance of inflammation and immune activation” (Nicole Porter, Leonard A Jason, Mary Ann Fletcher et al. Journal of Behavioural and Neuroscience Research 2010:8:(2):1-8). 2010 www.investinme.org Page 88 of 108
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