Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41662877›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of infectious diseases2026

Optimized Mass Spectrometry to Uncover M. tuberculosis Biomarkers in Extracellular Vesicles From Asymptomatic Tuberculosis Patients.

Luisa Maria Nieto Ramirez, Kimberly Shelton, John T Belisle, Gustavo Diaz, Michèle Tameris, Kogieleum Naidoo, Gavin Churchyard, Thomas Scriba, Gerhard Walzl, Timothy R Sterling and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of infectious diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Luisa Maria Nieto RamirezDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1566-5876
Kimberly SheltonDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0009-0003-4679-3018
John T BelisleDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Gustavo DiazBioanalysis and Omics Center, Analytical Resources Core, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9313-1936
Michèle TamerisDivision of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-7983-7203
Kogieleum NaidooCentre for the AIDS Programme of Research, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-8874-6661
Gavin ChurchyardAurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4269-3699
Thomas ScribaDivision of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-0641-1359
Gerhard WalzlDivision of Immunology, Stellenbosch University, Immunology Research Group, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-2487-125X
Timothy R SterlingVanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4822-6979
Kate HadleyDivision of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Humphrey MulengaDivision of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-2030-0751
Mark HatherillDivision of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-3491-1809
Karen M DobosDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Funding

University of KwaZulu-Natal - CAPRISA HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials UnitUM1AI069469 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL · PI QUARRAISHA ABDOOL KARIM · 2012 to 2026
$36.4M
Research Resources and Workforce Development for the Rocky Mountain Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at Colorado State UniversityUC7AI180308 · NIAID · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Karen Marie Dobos · 2023 to 2026
$13.5M
Aurum Clinical Trials UnitUM1AI154463 · NIAID · AURUM INSTITUTE NPC · PI Gavin John Churchyard · 2021 to 2026
$8.1M
Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) Upgrade for Colorado State University (CSU)G20AI167348 · NIAID · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI DOBOS, KAREN MARIE · 2021 to 2022
$6.5M
NIAID 71805NIAID NIH HHS 1UC7AI80308NIAID NIH HHS 3G20AI167348NIAID NIH HHS 66875NIAID NIH HHS 68100NIAID NIH HHS G20 AI167348NIAID NIH HHS T32AI62691NIAID NIH HHS UC7 AI180308NIAID NIH HHS UM1 AI069469NIAID NIH HHS UM1 AI154463NIHSouth African Medical Research Council OPP1116632South African Medical Research Council OPP1137034
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide. Exposure to Mtb results in diverse outcomes: bacterial clearance, latent infection, asymptomatic, or symptomatic TB. Current diagnostic tools cannot reliably distinguish these outcomes. Our previous studies identified Mtb proteins in extracellular vesicles (EVs) from TB patients' serum, suggesting their potential as biomarkers. Here, we aimed to discover Mtb proteins and peptides in serum EVs across TB stages, focusing on asymptomatic individuals.

methodsSerum was obtained from healthy, HIV-negative South African adult volunteers enrolled in a TB risk study. Based on patients' outcomes, samples were classified as prevalent, incident (controls that progressed to TB), activated TB, or community controls. EVs were isolated using ExoQuick™, followed by protein digestion and mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Data-independent acquisition (DIA) with five different data analysis strategies, and two data-dependent (DDA) methods were used to identify Mtb proteins.

resultsOur DIA analysis using ion-mobility and spectral libraries enriched with Mtb-MS data revealed 19 Mtb proteins. Rv2997 was significantly higher at baseline in individuals who were initially TB-negative (incident) but later became bacteriologically positive, asymptomatic-TB (activated). HspX, GroEL2, and GroES, together with a MtrB peptide were significantly different between controls and asymptomatic-TB cases. DDA approaches did not resolve additional Mtb proteins.

conclusionsQuantitative DIA analysis discovered Mtb proteins/peptides in serum-derived EVs that were differentially abundant in individuals with early, asymptomatic TB. These findings highlight their potential as biomarkers and provide insight into host-pathogen interactions during subclinical infection.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsBiomarkersExtracellular VesiclesMass SpectrometryMycobacterium tuberculosisTuberculosisAdultAsymptomatic InfectionsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSouth AfricaBacterial ProteinsBiomarkers

Identifiers

PMID41662877
PMCPMC13085903

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.