Preprint Initial findings from the DecodeME genome-wide association study of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, 2025, DecodeMe Collaboration

Why did decode focus on protein-coding genes only? Are dodgy miRNA pathways of no interest?
I'm not sure that is the case. The first thing they look for is the genetic signal, then they look to see what was captured by that genetic signal. I think that was mainly protein coding genes. I had a feeling there was at least one RNA species. I don't know if that showed up in the supplementary information?
 
I'm simply not sure this needs to be true.
All living things pretty much have to be genetically programmed to survive and to replicate because if not, they would not be around anymore.

The only way I can imagine that a virus might survive in a population if it causes people to essentially hibernate, is if it causes only some people to hibernate due to rare traits in those people.

Maybe others have some other ideas?
 
All living things pretty much have to be genetically programmed to survive and to replicate because if not, they would not be around anymore.
Fair. But it doesn't have to manifest in typical fashion, i.e. at the progressive expense of the infected. Take parasites, for example.

The only way I can imagine that a virus might survive in a population if it causes people to essentially hibernate, is if it causes only some people to hibernate due to rare traits in those people.

Maybe others have some other ideas?
Perhaps if it's not the virus that persists, or if it is, that it doesn't conform to usual characteristics. Similar to ME/CFS qualities. Of course, it doesn't have to be a virus.
 
Yes. Sorta.

Point?

Mine: It's how it has been used against us historically that weighs on my mind, and I would hope in a forum such as ours we wouldn't be cavalier about word coinage.
 
On the topic of "what does DecodeME" show, my feeling is that it's really early for anyone to be saying with much confidence that the genes they found point to any specific pathway. From the DecodeME blog and paper respectively:
The signals discovered are involved in the immune and the nervous systems, indicating immunological and neurological causes to this poorly understood disease.
Overall, DecodeME shows that ME/CFS is partly caused by genes related to the immune and nervous systems.

Here are the candidate genes suggested by DecodeME:
chr1
RABGAP1L
DARS2
RC3H1
GPR52
ZBTB37
TNFSF4
ANKRD45
KLHL20
PRDX6
SERPINC1
SLC9C2

chr6q
FBXL4

chr6p
BTN2A2
TRIM38
ZNF322
ABT1
HFE
BTN3A3
HMGN4

chr12
SUDS3
PEBP1
VSIG10

chr13
OLFM4

chr15
CCPG1

chr17
CA10

chr20
CSE1L
ARFGEF2
DDX27
STAU1
ZNFX1
B4GALT5
PTGIS

Is it really possible to say that the above list of genes indicates "immunological causes"? Genuine question, since I don't know much about any of them. But my impression is that genes often have lots of unrelated functions. And the genes related to ME/CFS will likely be only a subset of genes from each locus above, if the right gene is even listed at all. So it feels like you could pretty much write any story you want based on the genes and gene functions you pick.

I'm more excited about the MAGMA analysis that found overexpression of ME/CFS-associated genes in the brain (though unfortunately not much more specific than that) as pointing to the nervous system since the technique is much less biased than trying to create a story from the literature.
 
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