Human Herpesvirus-6 Reactivation, Mitochondrial Fragmentation, and the Coordination of Antiviral and Metabolic Phenotypes in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Human Herpesvirus-6 Reactivation, Mitochondrial Fragmentation, and the Coordination of Antiviral and Metabolic Phenotypes in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Funding

Grants and gifts supporting this work came from:

• Solve ME/CFS Initiative (Ramsay Research Award)
• HHV-6 Foundation (to B.K.P.)
• the University of California San Diego Christini Fund
• Lennox Foundation
• JMS Fund
• Khosla Foundation
• Westreich Foundation,
• Malone Foundation (to R.K.N.)

plus "grassroots support from over 2000 individuals who have each provided gifts in the past year to support Naviaux laboratory and Prusty laboratory research".

Results

• HHV-6 reactivation was shown to cause mitochondria dysfunction in patients with ME/CFS
• antiviral activity was found in the blood serum of patients with ME/CFS
• the antiviral activity was "tightly associated with an activity that fragments the mitochondrial network and decreases cellular energy (ATP) production"

Investigators

• Philipp Schreiner
• Thomas Harrer
• Carmen Scheibenbogen
• Stephanie Lamer
• Andreas Schlosser
• Robert Naviaux
• Bhupesh Prusty

Commentary

This paper will be a paradigm shift in our understanding of potential infectious causes behind ME/CFS. Human herpesvirus 6 and HHV-7 have long been thought to play a role in this disease, but there was hardly any causative mechanism known before — Bhupesh Prusty

News coverage

• Researchers describe an underlying biological basis for mylagic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

See also

• Cell danger response hypothesis
• Mitochondrion
• Human herpesvirus 6
• Bhupesh Prusty
• Robert Naviaux

Learn more

• Press release: For ME/CFS Patients, Viral Immunities Come at a Devastating, Lifelong Cost
• Human Herpesvirus-6 Reactivation, Mitochondrial Fragmentation, and the Coordination of Antiviral and Metabolic Phenotypes in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Full text)