Abstract
The non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) is a very troublesome opportunistic pathogen, placing a heavy burden on public health. The pathogenesis of NTM pulmonary infection is not well-revealed yet, and its diagnosis is always challenging. This study aimed to use a comprehensive proteomics analysis of plasma exosomes to distinguish patients with rapidly growing NTM M. abscessus (MAB), slowly growing NTM M. intracellulare (MAC), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The identified protein components were quantified with label-free proteomics and determined with a bioinformatics analysis. The complement and coagulation were significantly enriched in patients with Mycobacterium infection, and a total of 24 proteins were observed with up-regulation, which included C1R, C1S, C2, MASP2, C4B, C8B, C9, etc. Of them, 18 proteins were significantly up-regulated in patients with MAB, while 6 and 10 were up-regulated in patients with MAC or MTB, respectively. Moreover, MAB infection was also related to the HIF-1 signaling pathway and phagosome processes, and MTB infection was associated with the p53 signaling pathway. This study provided a comprehensive description of the exosome proteome in the plasma of patients infected with MAB, MAC, and MTB and revealed potential diagnostic and differential diagnostic markers.