A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study
This pilot study harnessed the power of network medicine to unravel the complex pathogenesis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). By utilizing a network analysis on whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from the Severely Ill Patient Study (SIPS), we identified ME/CFS-associat...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1509346/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823860988977348608 |
|---|---|
| author | Li-Yuan Hung Chan-Shuo Wu Chia-Jung Chang Peng Li Kimberly Hicks Joshua J. Dibble Braxton Morrison Chimere L. Smith Ronald W. Davis Wenzhong Xiao |
| author_facet | Li-Yuan Hung Chan-Shuo Wu Chia-Jung Chang Peng Li Kimberly Hicks Joshua J. Dibble Braxton Morrison Chimere L. Smith Ronald W. Davis Wenzhong Xiao |
| author_sort | Li-Yuan Hung |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This pilot study harnessed the power of network medicine to unravel the complex pathogenesis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). By utilizing a network analysis on whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from the Severely Ill Patient Study (SIPS), we identified ME/CFS-associated proteins and delineated the corresponding network-level module, termed the SIPS disease module, together with its relevant pathways. This module demonstrated significant overlap with genes implicated in fatigue, cognitive disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. Our pathway analysis revealed potential associations between ME/CFS and conditions such as COVID-19, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection, neurodegenerative diseases, and pathways involved in cortisol synthesis and secretion, supporting the hypothesis that ME/CFS is a neuroimmune disorder. Additionally, our findings underscore a potential link between ME/CFS and estrogen signaling pathways, which may elucidate the higher prevalence of ME/CFS in females. These findings provide insights into the pathogenesis of ME/CFS from a network medicine perspective and highlight potential therapeutic targets. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore their implications for improving diagnosis and treatment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c6991c93d23a4e8abe06c2d3965e14d5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-c6991c93d23a4e8abe06c2d3965e14d52025-02-10T06:49:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612025-02-011910.3389/fnhum.2025.15093461509346A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot studyLi-Yuan Hung0Chan-Shuo Wu1Chia-Jung Chang2Peng Li3Kimberly Hicks4Joshua J. Dibble5Braxton Morrison6Chimere L. Smith7Ronald W. Davis8Wenzhong Xiao9Computational Research Center for Complex Chronic Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesComputational Research Center for Complex Chronic Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesME/CFS Collaborative Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United StatesComputational Research Center for Complex Chronic Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesOpen Medicine Foundation, Agoura Hills, CA, United StatesComputational Research Center for Complex Chronic Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesComputational Research Center for Complex Chronic Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesPatient Led Research Collaborative, Washington, DC, United StatesME/CFS Collaborative Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United StatesComputational Research Center for Complex Chronic Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesThis pilot study harnessed the power of network medicine to unravel the complex pathogenesis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). By utilizing a network analysis on whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from the Severely Ill Patient Study (SIPS), we identified ME/CFS-associated proteins and delineated the corresponding network-level module, termed the SIPS disease module, together with its relevant pathways. This module demonstrated significant overlap with genes implicated in fatigue, cognitive disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. Our pathway analysis revealed potential associations between ME/CFS and conditions such as COVID-19, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection, neurodegenerative diseases, and pathways involved in cortisol synthesis and secretion, supporting the hypothesis that ME/CFS is a neuroimmune disorder. Additionally, our findings underscore a potential link between ME/CFS and estrogen signaling pathways, which may elucidate the higher prevalence of ME/CFS in females. These findings provide insights into the pathogenesis of ME/CFS from a network medicine perspective and highlight potential therapeutic targets. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore their implications for improving diagnosis and treatment.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1509346/fullnetwork medicineME/CFSchronic fatigue syndromeneuroimmunologyneurodegenerative diseasescognitive disorders |
| spellingShingle | Li-Yuan Hung Chan-Shuo Wu Chia-Jung Chang Peng Li Kimberly Hicks Joshua J. Dibble Braxton Morrison Chimere L. Smith Ronald W. Davis Wenzhong Xiao A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience network medicine ME/CFS chronic fatigue syndrome neuroimmunology neurodegenerative diseases cognitive disorders |
| title | A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study |
| title_full | A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study |
| title_fullStr | A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study |
| title_full_unstemmed | A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study |
| title_short | A network medicine approach to investigating ME/CFS pathogenesis in severely ill patients: a pilot study |
| title_sort | network medicine approach to investigating me cfs pathogenesis in severely ill patients a pilot study |
| topic | network medicine ME/CFS chronic fatigue syndrome neuroimmunology neurodegenerative diseases cognitive disorders |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1509346/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT liyuanhung anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT chanshuowu anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT chiajungchang anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT pengli anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT kimberlyhicks anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT joshuajdibble anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT braxtonmorrison anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT chimerelsmith anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT ronaldwdavis anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT wenzhongxiao anetworkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT liyuanhung networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT chanshuowu networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT chiajungchang networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT pengli networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT kimberlyhicks networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT joshuajdibble networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT braxtonmorrison networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT chimerelsmith networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT ronaldwdavis networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy AT wenzhongxiao networkmedicineapproachtoinvestigatingmecfspathogenesisinseverelyillpatientsapilotstudy |