CFS is associated with diminished intracellular perforin

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

You've offered to get full papers in the past and I wonder if this

study would be a candidate. The authors say, " A significant reduction

in the NK cell associated perforin levels in samples

from CFS patients, compared to healthy controls, was observed. " But

they don't give any numbers in the abstract.

" ...its analysis may prove useful as a biomarker in the study of CFS. "

I keep waiting for some research that puts all these biomarkers

together in one study.

Sue ,

Upstate New York

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Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 00:11:19 -0500

From: Fred Springfield <fredspringfield@...>

Subject: RES: Chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with diminished

intracellular perforin

Chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with diminished intracellular

perforin.

Journal: Clin Exp Immunol. 2005 Dec;142(3):505-11.

Authors: Maher KJ, Klimas NG, Fletcher MA.

Affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Miami School

of

Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.

NLM Citation: PMID: 16297163

Summary:

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an illness characterized by

unexplained

and prolonged fatigue that is often accompanied by abnormalities of

immune,

endocrine and cognitive functions. Diminished natural killer cell

cytotoxicity (NKCC) is a frequently reported finding. However, the

molecular basis of this defect of in vitro cytotoxicy has not been

described.

Perforin is a protein found within intracellular granules of NK and

cytotoxic T cells and is a key factor in the lytic processes mediated by

these cells. Quantitative fluorescence flow cytometry was used to the

intracellular perforin content in CFS subjects and healthy controls. A

significant reduction in the NK cell associated perforin levels in

samples

from CFS patients, compared to healthy controls, was observed. There was

also an indication of a reduced perforin level within the cytotoxic T

cells

of CFS subjects, providing the first evidence, to our knowledge, to

suggest

a T cell associated cytotoxic deficit in CFS.

Because perforin is important in immune surveillance and homeostasis of

the

immune system, its deficiency may prove to be an important factor in the

pathogenesis of CFS and its analysis may prove useful as a biomarker in

the

study of CFS.