Monzón-Nomdedeu MB, Morten KJ, Oltra E. Induced pluripotent stem cells as suitable sensors for fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. World J Stem Cells 2021; 13(8): 1134-1150 [PMID: 34567431 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i8.1134]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Elisa Oltra, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Pathology, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, C/Quevedo 2, Valencia 46001, Spain. elisa.oltra@ucv.es
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Article-Type of This Article
Systematic Reviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Stem Cells. Aug 26, 2021; 13(8): 1134-1150 Published online Aug 26, 2021. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i8.1134
Induced pluripotent stem cells as suitable sensors for fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
María B Monzón-Nomdedeu, Karl J Morten, Elisa Oltra
María B Monzón-Nomdedeu, School of Biotechnology, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, Valencia 46001, Spain
Karl J Morten, Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, The Women Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
Elisa Oltra, Department of Pathology, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, Valencia 46001, Spain
Elisa Oltra, Centro de Investigación Traslacional San Alberto Magno, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, Valencia 46001, Spain
Author contributions: Monzón-Nondedeu MB and Oltra E wrote the first draft; All authors critically reviewed and edited this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Elisa Oltra, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Pathology, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, C/Quevedo 2, Valencia 46001, Spain. elisa.oltra@ucv.es
Received: February 18, 2021 Peer-review started: February 18, 2021 First decision: March 30, 2021 Revised: April 19, 2021 Accepted: July 5, 2021 Article in press: July 5, 2021 Published online: August 26, 2021
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Fibromyalgia (FM) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are multifactorial immuno-metabolic disorders lacking biomarker-based diagnostic methods. Comorbidity is frequent, and the prevalence is increased in women, affecting as much as 5% of the population globally. Available clinical treatments are symptom-palliative only.
Research motivation
A diagnostic bioassay of FM and ME/CFS would reduce the time to diagnosis, clinical costs, and permit the development of effective, curative, treatments. Methods capable of detecting disease-associated “plasma factors” could serve this purpose even if the nature of the detected factors remain unknown.
Research objectives
Identification of metabolic imbalances associated with FM and ME/CFS provides the background needed to develop a cell-based diagnostic bioassay for FM and ME/CFS.
Research methods
The methods included a PRISMA (Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis)-based systematic review of the literature analyzing FM and ME/CFS metabolic profiles, and the technical evidence supporting induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as sensors of environmental imbalance.
Research results
More than one study found statistically significant changes (P < 0.05) in body-fluid metabolites, particularly cholines, ceramides, and some amino acids in FM and ME/CFS patients. Environmental cues can affect stem cell phenotype.
Research conclusions
FM and ME/CFS metabolite profiles support metabolic imbalance. The lack of previous research exploring the hypothesis raised confirms the novelty of our proposal.
Research perspectives
Empirical testing of the influence of FM and ME/CFS “plasma factors” on iPSCs growth and behavior is warranted.
