MiRNAs and exosomes in tuberculosis

Abstract

Aim and objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most lethal global infectious diseases. Despite the availability of much higher levels of technology in health and medicine, tuberculosis still remains a serious global health problem. Mycobacterium tuberculosis has the capacity for prolonged survival inside macrophages by exploiting host metabolic and energy pathways and perturbing autophagy and apoptosis of infected cells. Results: The mechanism (s) underlying this process are not completely understood but evidence suggests that mycobacteria subvert the host miRNA network to enable mycobacterial survival. The role of miRNAs in TB immune escape mechanisms and the potential for miRNA-based TB therapeutics has been described. Further validation studies are required to (i) elucidate the precise effect of TB on host miRNAs, (ii) determine the inhibition of mycobacterial burden using miRNA-based therapies and (iii) identify novel miRNA biomarkers that may prove useful in TB diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Circulating exosomes have been used as diagnostic biomarkers in various diseases. Recently, the serum-derived exosomes were isolated from TB patients and expression of miR-484, miR-425, and miR-96 was examined. Conclusion: They found that 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. In conclusion it is well stablished that exosomal miRNAs have diagnostic potential in active tuberculosis. The diagnostic power may be improved when combined with conventional diagnostic markers.