Sex-Dependent Transcriptional Changes in Response to Stress in Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Pilot Project.

ABSTRACT: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex, multi-symptom illness characterized by debilitating fatigue and post-exertional malaise (PEM). Numerous studies have reported sex differences at the epidemiological, cellular, and molecular levels between male and female ME/CFS patients. To gain further insight into these sex-dependent changes, we evaluated differential gene expression by RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) in 33 ME/CFS patients (20 female, 13 male) and 34 matched healthy controls (20 female and 14 male) before, during, and after an exercise challenge intended to provoke PEM. Our findings revealed that pathways related to immune-cell signaling (including IL-12) and natural killer cell cytotoxicity were activated as a result of exertion in the male ME/CFS cohort

SUBMITTER: Gamer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10299261 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature