Fascinating new research from @PlzSolveCFS: What is going on with T cells in Long COVID and ME/CFS? 🤔👇 In this talk, researchers Dr. Liisa Selin, Dr. Ayano Kohlgruber, and Dr. Roshan Kumar discuss their newest work, arguing that dysfunctional T-cells are driving MECFS and Long COVID. They examined the CD8+ T cells of patients with these diseases, and found signs of clonal expansion - which only happens when the immune system is chronically exposed to an antigen. 🦠 Clonal expansion can happen in response to a foreign antigen (such as a virus or bacteria), however it can also happen in autoimmunity, where the immune system has accidentally recognized part of the person's own body as "foreign." They also identified signs of exhaustion in these T cells- meaning that they're becoming worn out trying to fight these antigens, whether they're foreign (as in the case of chronic infection) or self-antigens (as in autoimmunity). In MECFS and LC patients, they found their CD8 tells were able to produce much lower levels of Interferon-gamma and TNF-a compared to healthy controls.🧪 Previously, Dr. Selin and other researchers had studied an experimental, nebulized treatment called Inspiritol (unfortunately it is not available to patients at this time). In this new work, the team tested Inspiritol's effects on these exhausted T cells in-vitro, and found it was able to greatly improve the cells' function. **Other Chronic Pathogens** Dr. Selin explains that once you have the overactivation and subsequent exhaustion of the CD8+ T cells, it impairs the immune system's ability to keep other chronic pathogens that may be in the person's body under control. This is why patients with these diseases may have a reactivation of herpesviruses such as EBV, CMV, HHV-6, enteroviruses, tick-borne illnesses, and more.🦠 **Identifying T cell Targets** In the future stage of the work, this team will use technology developed by Dr. Kumar and his company that seeks to identify exactly which pathogens these T-cells are targeting. Knowing the cause of this abnormal clonal exhaustion will help us to understand exactly why this process is occurring, shedding light on the underlying cause of LC and MECFS. ✨It's pretty exciting to see these advances occurring! Although it may not always seem like it, we get closer to the answers every day!✨ 1/