Dutch Research Award

This project investigates the relationship between viruses and the gut microbiome in ME/CFS patients. This may assist in developing new diagnostic biomarkers for ME/CFS and identifying patients who may benefit from antiviral or microbiome-targeted treatments, such as faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). In a faecal microbiota transplantation, stool containing healthy bacteria from a healthy donor is transferred to the intestines of a patient to restore the balance of bacteria.

Objective

This project aims to:

Determine the activity of viruses such as B19, EBV, HCMV, HHV-6, HHV-7, and endogenous remnants of ancestral retroviral infections (infections caused in previous generations by certain viruses) in ME/CFS patients and healthy individuals.

Identify the composition of the microbiome (bacteria and viruses) in stool samples of ME/CFS patients and healthy individuals.

Measure intestinal barrier function in ME/CFS patients and healthy individuals.

Investigate the relationship between the intestinal barrier, gut microbiome, and viral activity.

Examine how the gut microbiome of ME/CFS patients influences the intestinal barrier and inflammatory responses in a laboratory model.

Approach/Methodology

First, the researchers will determine, in part of the biomaterials from the NMCB cohort, the activity of viruses in serum, white blood cells, and saliva. In addition, they will chart the gut microbiome and virome (viruses in the gut) using metagenomic sequencing (DNA analysis) of stool samples. Subsequently, the intestinal barrier will be examined via biomarkers in blood and stool. The findings will be compared with data on the microbiome and virome from participants in the ME/CFS Lines cohort. Finally, a laboratory model will be studied using gut cells and white blood cells from healthy individuals. This will be exposed to the gut microbiome of healthy individuals and ME/CFS patients from the NMCB cohort. The researchers will measure the intestinal barrier and inflammation values.

Collaborative Partners

This project is part of the Dutch ME/CFS Consortium and Biobank (NMCB), which will form a biobank of biological samples and data from ME/CFS patients and healthy individuals. Additionally, the project collaborates with the ME/CFS Lines consortium, which will form a biobank in partnership with the Lifelines population study. There is also collaboration with researchers from the RESTORE-ME study at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, United Kingdom. This study examines whether FMT (a transplantation using stool from a healthy donor) is a safe and effective treatment for ME/CFS patients. The project group also includes patient representatives from the ME/CVS Vereniging and ME/CVS Nederland, who advise and contribute to the design and implementation of the project from a patient perspective.

(Expected) Results

With this research, the investigators hope to gain more insight into the relationship between virus activation patterns, the composition of the gut microbiome and virome, and the intestinal barrier in ME/CFS, as well as the effect of the ME/CFS microbiome on the intestinal barrier and inflammation. This will improve understanding of the role of viruses and gut microbes in ME/CFS.

The researchers expect a link between abnormalities in the gut microbiome and the activity of viruses in ME/CFS patients. It is also anticipated that the gut microbiome contributes to deterioration of the intestinal barrier and to inflammation. The researchers think that insights from this research will help identify new markers for ME/CFS patients, making antiviral medication or microbiome-targeted treatment (such as FMT) possible treatment options.]