Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37977267›Full record

ArticleChest2024

Circulating Mitochondrial DNA Is Associated With High Levels of Fatigue in Two Independent Sarcoidosis Cohorts.

Vitória Fiorini, Buqu Hu, Ying Sun, Sheeline Yu, John McGovern, Shifa Gandhi, Samuel Woo, Sara Jean Turcotte-Foster, Taylor Pivarnik, Zara Khan and 5 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Chest, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 38% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Advances in management of sarcoidosis-associated fatigue: A narrative review.Sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG · 2026
    Article
  2. Use of fatigue assessment scale and small fiber neuropathy screening list in Japanese patients with sarcoidosis.Sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Vitória FioriniDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Buqu HuDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Ying SunDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Sheeline YuDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
John McGovernDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Shifa GandhiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Samuel WooDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Sara Jean Turcotte-FosterDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Taylor PivarnikDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Zara KhanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Taylor AdamsDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Erica L HerzogDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Naftali KaminskiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Mridu GulatiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Changwan RyuDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Electronic address: changwan.ryu@yale.edu.
Yale University · US

Funding

Yale Clinical and Translational Science Award (U Component)UL1TR001863 · NCATS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI John H. Krystal, LUCILA OHNO-MACHADO · 2016 to 2026
$102.9M
Training Translational Lung Biology and PathobiologyT32HL007778 · NHLBI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Erica L Herzog, NAFTALI KAMINSKI · 1994 to 2026
$14.4M
TrainingU54HG008540 · NHGRI · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI BAHAR, IVET, BERG, JEREMY M · 2014 to 2018
$12.8M
Genomic Analysis of Tissue and Cellular Heterogeneity in IPFR01HL127349 · NHLBI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI BENOS, PANAGIOTIS V, KAMINSKI, NAFTALI · 2015 to 2025
$5.9M
Alveolar DevMAPU01HL122626 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI AMBALAVANAN, NAMASIVAYAM, HAGOOD, JAMES S. · 2014 to 2018
$3.7M
Normal Aging Lung Cell Atlas (NALCA)U01HL145567 · NHLBI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI KAMINSKI, NAFTALI · 2019 to 2022
$2.8M
Macrophage driven, profibrotic adrenergic nerve remodeling in SSc-ILDR01HL152677 · NHLBI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI HERZOG, ERICA L · 2020 to 2023
$2.4M
Neuroimmune Molecules in Scleroderma Lung FibrosisR01HL125850 · NHLBI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI HERZOG, ERICA L · 2016 to 2019
$1.7M
Use of the Src Family Kinase Inhibitor Saracatinib in the Treatment of Pulmonary FibrosisUG3TR002445 · NCATS · NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH · PI DOWNEY, GREGORY PAUL, DUDLEY, JOEL THOMAS · 2018 to 2018
$854k
Mitochondrial DNA and TLR9 in Pulmonary FibrosisK08HL151970 · NHLBI · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI RYU, CHANGWAN · 2020 to 2024
$840k
NCATS NIH HHS UG3 TR002445NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001863NHGRI NIH HHS U54 HG008540NHLBI NIH HHS K08 HL151970NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL125850NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL127349NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL152677NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL007778NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL122626NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL145567
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with sarcoidosis who develop severe clinical phenotypes of pulmonary fibrosis or multiorgan disease experience debilitating symptoms, with fatigue being a common chief complaint. Studies that have investigated this patient-related outcome measure (PROM) have used the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), a self-reported questionnaire that reflects mental and physical domains. Despite extensive work, its cause is unknown and treatment options remain limited. Previously, we showed that the plasma of patients with sarcoidosis with extrapulmonary disease endorsing fatigue was enriched for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a ligand for the innate immune receptor toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). Through our cross-disciplinary platform, we investigated a relationship between sarcoidosis-induced fatigue and circulating mtDNA. RESEARCH QUESTION: Is there a psychobiologic mechanism that connects sarcoidosis-induced fatigue and mtDNA-mediated TLR9 activation? STUDY DESIGN AND

methodsUsing a local cohort of patients at Yale (discovery cohort) and the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Genomic Research in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and Sarcoidosis study (validation cohort), we scored the FAS and quantified in the plasma, mtDNA concentrations, TLR9 activation, and cytokine levels.

resultsAlthough FAS scores were independent of corticosteroid use and Scadding stage, we observed a robust association between FAS scores, which included mental and physical domains, and multiorgan sarcoidosis. Subsequently, we identified a significant correlation between plasma mtDNA concentrations and all domains of fatigue. Additionally, we found that TLR9 activation is associated with all aspects of the FAS and partially mediates this PROM through mtDNA. Last, we found that TLR9-associated soluble mediators in the plasma are independent of all facets of fatigue.

interpretationThrough our cross-disciplinary translational platform, we identified a previously unrecognized psychobiologic connection between sarcoidosis-induced fatigue and circulating mtDNA concentrations. Mechanistic work that investigates the contribution of mtDNA-mediated innate immune activation in this PROM and clinical studies with prospective cohorts has the potential to catalyze novel therapeutic strategies for this patient population and those with similar conditions.

Indexed as

DNA, MitochondrialFatigueSarcoidosisAdultCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedToll-Like Receptor 9DNA, MitochondrialTLR9 protein, humanToll-Like Receptor 9Fatigue Assessment Scalemitochondrial DNApatient-related outcome measuressarcoidosistoll-like receptor 9

Identifiers

PMID37977267
PMCPMC11110677
OpenAlexW4388686866

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.