Elevated Serum Levels of Interleukin-11 and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 2026, Chinnappan et al

[John Mac]

Abstract​

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disease of unknown aetiology associated with chronic severe fatigue and neurological symptoms, including dizziness, sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment and pain. There are no reliable blood biomarkers available for ME/CFS, possibly due to the lack of specific pathogenesis, even though Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) has been suspected.

We quantified the levels of IL-interleukin-11 (IL-11) in the serum of female ME/CFS patients (n = 40; mean age 51 years) and age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects (n = 38; mean age 43), as well as matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in ME/CFS patients (n = 18; mean age 57 years old ) and healthy control subjects (n = 18; mean age 53 years old), using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

We hypothesized that mast cells (MC) stimulated by EBV may be involved.

MC are unique tissue immune cells that have been implicated in ME/CFS.

MC were grown from human umbilical cord blood CD34+ stem cells in vitro and incubated with recombinant (rEBV) protein, following which the release of MMP-9 was assayed in the cell culture supernatant media by ELISA.

There was a significant increase in serum levels of IL-11 and MMP-9 in ME/CFS patients compared to control subjects.
MCs stimulated by rEBV protein released a high amount of MMP-9 compared to control cells.
In conclusion, IL-11, MMP-9 and MCs may be involved in ME/CFS individuals.

Frontiers | Elevated Serum Levels of Interleukin-11 and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disease of unknown aetiology associated with chronic severe fatigue and neurological symptom...

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[Murph]

I don't know if it really proves anything by itself but it throws another datapoint in the pot to stew up.

I like it when they test in patient serum and in isolated cell lines as well. Assuming the study and data are all real and there's not too much file-drawer effect, then that dual pathway approach adds to the confidence we can have in the result.