Detection of rRNA and tRNA fragments in exosomes collected from the peripheral blood of mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania Donovan. Mus musculus

Small RNAs such as tRNAs and rRNAs are highly enriched in exosomes from a protozoan parasite, Leishmania species. Here, we examined the fragments of parasite tRNA and rRNA molecules by a next generation sequencing analysis in the exosomes isolated from the blood samples of mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania donovani. Detected RNA included tRNA-Glu, tRNA-Ile, tRNA-Trp, 5.8S rRNA, and 28S rRNA. The results demonstrated that parasite-derived exosomes were circulating in the mice blood. The detected molecules can be biomarkers for Leishmania infection.

诸如转运RNA（tRNA）、核糖体RNA（rRNA）这类小RNA，在原生动物寄生虫利什曼原虫属（Leishmania species）来源的外泌体（exosomes）中高度富集。本研究采用下一代测序技术，对感染亚马逊利什曼原虫（Leishmania amazonensis）与杜氏利什曼原虫（Leishmania donovani）的小鼠血液样本中分离得到的外泌体，开展寄生虫来源tRNA与rRNA分子片段的检测分析。本次检出的RNA包括谷氨酸转运RNA（tRNA-Glu）、异亮氨酸转运RNA（tRNA-Ile）、色氨酸转运RNA（tRNA-Trp）、5.8S核糖体RNA（5.8S rRNA）以及28S核糖体RNA（28S rRNA）。研究结果证实，寄生虫来源的外泌体可在小鼠血液中循环存在。上述检出的分子可作为利什曼原虫感染的生物标志物。