Mesangial cell (MCs) proliferation is an essential component of glomerulonephritis. To find some biomarkers of mesangial cell proliferation, we investigate the relationship between transfer RNA fragments (tRFs) and proliferating mesangial cells. The model of proliferating mesangial cells was built by using transforming growth factor-1(TGF-beta 1) treated mesangial cells. Then we analyzed the expression of tRFs in normal mesangial cells and mesangial cells treated by TGF-beta 1 through high-throughput sequencing technique. qRT-PCR was conducted to validate the differently expressed tRFs in normal mesangial cells and mesangial cells treated by TGF-beta 1. tDR-000064 and tDR-000103 were notably down regulated in mesangial cells treated by TGF-beta 1 compared with normal mesangial cells. Then we confirmed that tDR-000064 and tDR-000103 were correlated with proliferation of mesangial cells through receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Furthermore, Gene ontology (GO) and pathway analysis demonstrated that the two dys-regulated tRFs were mostly involved in mesangial cells and TGF-beta 1 receptor mediated signaling pathway. Our research provides a comprehensive analysis of tRFs in proliferating mesangial cells. (Figure 1A). (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc.