Abstract
Background Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane bound, secreted by cells, and detected in bodily fluids, including urine, and contain proteins, RNA, and DNA. Our goal was to identify HIV and human proteins (HPs) in urinary EVs from HIV+ patients and compare them to HIV− samples. Methods Urine samples were collected from HIV+ (n = 35) and HIV− (n = 12) individuals. EVs were isolated by ultrafiltration and characterized using transmission electron microscopy, tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Western blots confirmed the presence of HIV proteins. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was performed using FunRich and HIV Human Interaction database (HHID). Results EVs from urine were 30–400 nm in size. More EVs were in HIV+ patients, P < 0.05, by NTA. HIV+ samples had 14,475 HPs using LC/MS/MS, while only 111 were in HIV−. HPs in the EVs were of exosomal origin. LC/MS/MS showed all HIV+ samples contained at least one HIV protein. GO analysis showed differences in proteins between HIV+ and HIV− samples and more than 50% of the published HPs in the HHID interacted with EV HIV proteins. Conclusion Differences in the proteomic profile of EVs from HIV+ versus HIV− samples were found. HIV and HPs in EVs could be used to detect infection and/or diagnose HIV disease syndromes.
Highlights
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane bound vesicles, between 30 nm and 1 μm in size, are secreted into blood, urine, saliva, semen, and other bodily fluids, and have been suggested as a potential source of biomarkers for disease progression [1, 2]
All HIV+ urine samples (n = 35) contained at least one HIV-1 protein in EVs, while no HIV proteins were found in the HIV− samples (n = 12) (Table 3)
This is the first report of the detection of urinary EVs containing HIV and human proteins from HIV+ patients by mass spectrometry and western blot
Summary
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane bound vesicles, between 30 nm and 1 μm in size, are secreted into blood, urine, saliva, semen, and other bodily fluids, and have been suggested as a potential source of biomarkers for disease progression [1, 2]. These EVs, microparticles and/or exosomes, are secreted by cells normally or while they are undergoing stress or apoptosis [3] and contain proteins, mRNA, and miRNA [4] that are involved in cell to cell communication, transfer of antigens to cells, and intracellular communication. GO analysis showed differences in proteins between HIV+ and HIV− samples and more than 50% of the published HPs in the HHID interacted with EV HIV proteins. HIV and HPs in EVs could be used to detect infection and/or diagnose HIV disease syndromes
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