Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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
Processing time: 182 Days and 6.2 Hours
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.