Progress of exosomes in diagnosis of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a globally prevalent infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A majority of TB patients develop a latent infection, making disease diagnosis more challenging. However, current diagnostic methods are not able to accurately identify TB patients and those with latent TB. Therefore, there is a need to develop new methods for the accurate diagnosis of TB. Exosomes, which are extracellular vesicles with a diameter of 40∼160 nm, contain a variety of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and play a crucial role in intercellular communication. Recent research suggests that exosomes can be used for disease diagnosis, and exosome-derived substances such as proteins, miRNAs show great potential as disease biomarkers. This study aims to review the progress of exosomes in diagnosing TB and proposes new ideas for exploring exosomal biomarkers of TB. •TB has become a major health problem in developing countries.•Routine TB laboratory tests do not distinguish between active TB and LTBI.•Exosomal proteins and miRNAs are the most promising biomarkers for TB diagnosis.•Future research needs to explore more biomarkers for LTBI diagnosis.