Role of Exosomes in Tuberculosis: Looking towards a Future Road Map

Exosomes are generated by the multivesicular degradation of plasma membrane fusion, lysosomal, and extracellular release of intracellular vesicles. The exosome ranges from 30 to 150 nm in size. Exosomes are “bioactive vesicles” that promote intercellular communication. Exosomes contain a variety of biologically active substances packaged with proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. After any microbe infection into the exosomes, the content of the exosomes changes and is released into the bloodstream. Such type of exosome content could be useful for basic research on exosome biology. Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). During the Mtb infection, the exosomes played an important role in the body’s infection and immune response by releasing several exosome components providing new ideas for diagnosis, prevention, and therapeutic treatment of Mtb infection. The detection of the low abundance of the Mtb numbers or secreted peptides in the serum of TB patients is not possible. The best way of findings for diagnosis and treatment of TB could be possible by the exploration of exosome content analysis through various useful technologies. The study and analysis of exosome content would produce a road map for the future early diagnosis, prognosis estimation, efficacy monitoring, research, and application for TB.