Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017:4:4.
doi: 10.5334/ojb.28. Epub 2017 Feb 20.

The UK ME/CFS Biobank for biomedical research on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Multiple Sclerosis

Eliana M Lacerda  1 , Erinna W Bowman  1 , Jacqueline M Cliff  2 , Caroline C Kingdon  1 , Elizabeth C King  2 , Ji-Sook Lee  2 , Taane G Clark  3 , Hazel M Dockrell  2 , Eleanor M Riley  2 , Hayley Curran  1 , Luis Nacul  1
Affiliations

The UK ME/CFS Biobank for biomedical research on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Multiple Sclerosis

Eliana M Lacerda et al. Open J Bioresour. 2017.

Abstract

The UK ME/CFS Biobank was launched in August 2011 following extensive consultation with professionals and patient representatives. The bioresource aims to enhance research on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), related to pathophysiology, biomarkers and therapeutic approaches. The cohort includes 18-60 year olds, encompassing 284 clinically-confirmed ME/CFS cases, 60 neurologist-diagnosed multiple sclerosis (MS) cases, and 135 healthy individuals. The Biobank contains blood samples, aliquoted into serum, plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), red blood cells/granulocyte pellet, whole blood, and RNA (totalling 29,863 aliquots). Extensive dataset (700 clinical and socio-demographic variables/participant) enables comprehensive phenotyping. Potential reuse is conditional to ethical approval.

Keywords: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; biobank; biospecimen; database; multiple sclerosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
UK ME/CFS Biobank procedures from participant recruitment to storage of samples at the UCL/RFH BioBank.
Figure 2
Figure 2
UK ME/CFS Biobank processing procedures conducted by the UCL/RFH BioBank (by tube type with blood derivative breakdowns)
Figure 3
Figure 3. PBMC quality control
PBMC are thawed and stained with either a leukocyte antibody cocktail or a T cell cocktail. To test NK cell function, PBMC are incubated with cytokines at 5ng/ml for rhIL-12 (Peprotec) and 50ng/ml for IL-18 (R&D Systems) or with MHC Class I-deficient K562 cells for 18 hours, in the presence of anti-CD107a-FITC (BD Biosciences), then stained with an NK cell function panel. Data are collected using an LSRII flow cytometer using FACS Diva software and analysed using FlowJo software. This figure shows data from samples from 10 participants recruited at different sites throughout 2012. Cell recovery yielded an average of 3.9×10^6 cells/tube. The viability of the recovered cells, assessed by trypan blue exclusion, was excellent in all samples, ranging from 89.2% to 100%. NK cells in the recovered PBMC were responsive in functional NK cell assays, responding to both high-dose cytokines (IL-12 and IL-18) and MHC Class I-deficient (K562) target cells by upregulating expression of the high affinity IL-2 receptor (CD25), increasing production of IFN-γ, and undergoing degranulation, measured by surface expression of CD107a
Figure 4
Figure 4. PAXgene RNA quality control
RNA is extracted using the PAXgene miRNA isolation kit (Preanalytix). RNA yield is routinely >3μg/sample, with optical density 260/280nm between 1.8 and 2.2 and all Bioanalyser RNA Integrity (RIN) values greater than 7, as expected for intact, non-degraded samples. To confirm samples were appropriate for downstream analysis, quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) was conducted for five study participants for three housekeeping genes: Human large ribosomal protein P0 (HuP0), cyclophilin A, and hypoxanthine-guanine phospho-ribosyltransferase (HPRT), using published methodology [6].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Participant invitation and enrolment figures (through October 2016)
Figure 6
Figure 6
Workflow for accessing samples and/or data
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nacul LC, Lacerda EM, Pheby D, Campion P, Molokhia M, Fayyaz S, et al. Prevalence of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in three regions of England: a repeated cross-sectional study in primary care. BMC Med. 2011;9(1):91. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Reyes M, Nisenbaum R, Hoaglin DC, Unger ER, Emmons C, Randall B, et al. Prevalence and incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome in Wichita, Kansas. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163(13):1530–6. - PubMed
    1. Brurberg KG, Fonhus MS, Larun L, Flottorp S, Malterud K. Case definitions for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME): a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2014;4(2):e003973. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carruthers B, Jain AK, De Meirleir KL, Peterson DL, Klimas NG, Lerner AM, et al. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: clinical working case definition, diagnostic and treatment protocols. Journal of chronic fatigue syndrome. 2003;11(1):7–115.
    1. Fukuda K, Straus SE, Hickie I, Sharpe MC, Dobbins JG, Komaroff A. The chronic fatigue syndrome: a comprehensive approach to its definition and study. International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Study Group. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121(12):953–9. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources