Circulating miR-26b-5p as a Potential Host-Derived Biomarker for Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis.
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Infectious Diseases, Zhangjiajie People's Hospital, Zhangjiajie Hospital Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
- 2The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis of the Chinese Ministry of Health, the Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410078, People's Republic of China.
- 3Jishou University, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
- 4Department of Pulmonary Disease, The Fourth People's Hospital of Yiyang, Yiyang, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global infectious disease, and novel host-derived biomarkers are needed to improve diagnosis. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers due to their stability and immune regulatory functions; however, clinically validated TB-associated miRNAs remain limited. This study aimed to identify circulating miRNAs associated with active pulmonary TB. This study included 90 participants: active pulmonary TB (n=30), cured TB (n=30), and healthy controls (n=30). Candidate miRNAs were screened by pooled plasma miRNA profiling and further examined using three publicly available miRNA datasets. Circulating miR-26b-5p was quantified by RT-qPCR. Associations with active TB status were assessed using logistic regression, and discriminatory performance was evaluated by ROC analysis. Putative miR-26b-5p target genes and enriched pathways were explored using bioinformatic analyses. Microarray screening identified 108 candidate miRNAs, and cross-dataset analysis identified miR-26b-5p as the only overlapping candidate with consistent downregulation. Circulating miR-26b-5p was lower in active TB and higher in the clinically cured group. It remained associated with active-TB status after adjustment for BMI and PLR. miR-26b-5p showed an AUC of 0.867, while the combined model achieved an AUC of 0.956. Bioinformatic analysis identified 74 putative genes, with EP300, GSK3B, and PTEN as network hubs and PI3K-Akt among the enriched pathways. Circulating miR-26b-5p was associated with active pulmonary TB and showed preliminary discriminatory value, supporting its further evaluation as a candidate host-response marker.
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BibTeX
@article{su2026circulating,
title = {{Circulating miR-26b-5p as a Potential Host-Derived Biomarker for Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis.}},
author = {Zhongrui Su and Jianliang Huang and Wei Mo and Jin Li and Qiyu Zeng and Huiwen Chen and Shuangyin Deng and Xueming Xiang and Kehua Xiang},
journal = {Infection and drug resistance},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.2147/idr.s643442},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999617},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Circulating miR-26b-5p as a Potential Host-Derived Biomarker for Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis.
AU - Zhongrui Su
AU - Jianliang Huang
AU - Wei Mo
AU - Jin Li
AU - Qiyu Zeng
AU - Huiwen Chen
AU - Shuangyin Deng
AU - Xueming Xiang
AU - Kehua Xiang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - Infection and drug resistance
DO - 10.2147/idr.s643442
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999617
AB - Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global infectious disease, and novel host-derived biomarkers are needed to improve diagnosis. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers due to their stability and immune regulatory functions; however, clinically validated TB-associated miRNAs remain limited. This study aimed to identify circulating miRNAs associated with active pulmonary TB. This study included 90 participants: active pulmonary TB (n=30), cured TB (n=30), and healthy controls (n=30). Candidate miRNAs were screened by pooled plasma miRNA profiling and further examined using three publicly available miRNA datasets. Circulating miR-26b-5p was quantified by RT-qPCR. Associations with active TB status were assessed using logistic regression, and discriminatory performance was evaluated by ROC analysis. Putative miR-26b-5p target genes and enriched pathways were explored using bioinformatic analyses. Microarray screening identified 108 candidate miRNAs, and cross-dataset analysis identified miR-26b-5p as the only overlapping candidate with consistent downregulation. Circulating miR-26b-5p was lower in active TB and higher in the clinically cured group. It remained associated with active-TB status after adjustment for BMI and PLR. miR-26b-5p showed an AUC of 0.867, while the combined model achieved an AUC of 0.956. Bioinformatic analysis identified 74 putative genes, with EP300, GSK3B, and PTEN as network hubs and PI3K-Akt among the enriched pathways. Circulating miR-26b-5p was associated with active pulmonary TB and showed preliminary discriminatory value, supporting its further evaluation as a candidate host-response marker.
SN - 1178-6973
ER -