Serum Exosomal miRNAs Are Associated with Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major threat to human health. Due to the limited accuracy of the current TB diagnostic tests, it is critical to determine novel biomarkers for this disease. Circulating exosomes have been used as diagnostic biomarkers in various diseases. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: In this pilot study, we examined the expression of miRNAs as biomarker candidates for the diagnosis of TB infection. METHODS: Serum-derived exosomes were isolated from TB patients and matched control subjects. The expression of miR-484, miR-425, and miR-96 was examined by RT-PCR methods. RESULTS: The expression of miR-484, miR-425, and miR-96 were significantly increased in serum of TB patients which correlated with the TB infection level. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed the diagnostic potency of each individual serum exosomal miRNA with an area under the curve (AUC) = 0.72 for miR-484 (p < 0.05), 0.66 for miR-425 (p < 0.05), and 0.62 for miR-96 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that exosomal miRNAs have diagnostic potential in active tuberculosis. The diagnostic power may be improved when combined with conventional diagnostic markers.