Hypoxanthine, xanthine, and urate in synovial fluid from patients with inflammatory arthritides

Article Abstract:

The joint damage that occurs in rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory joint diseases leads to functional difficulties. Usually, inflammation is viewed as the mediator of joint destruction, and research has been directed at molecules that are involved in inflammatory processes. However, blood tests for markers of inflammatory disease do not reliably predict joint damage. It is possible that other mechanisms are involved in joint damage, and molecules involved in these changes might be more reliable indicators of joint destruction. Nucleotides are important molecules that carry genetic information, participate in energy transfer, and help to identify sugars and other molecules in crucial cell reactions, among other functions. A previous study suggested that altered metabolism of purines, molecules that are contained in some nucleotides, may occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The levels of three purine metabolites, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and urate (uric acid) in synovial (joint) fluid and blood specimens from 16 patients with rheumatoid arthritis or similarly severe inflammatory joint diseases were evaluated and compared with the levels of 17 healthy control subjects. In the patient group, levels of purines were higher in synovial fluid than in blood. Blood levels of hypoxanthine were higher in patients than in controls. Blood and synovial levels of xanthine and urate in patients correlated significantly. Effusion (seepage) from knee joints was weakly related to synovial levels of hypoxanthine and xanthine. Morning stiffness was weakly related to blood urate levels. Purine levels were not significantly related to blood tests of inflammatory indicators except haptoglobin. The report suggests that increased breakdown of nucleotides related to tissue hypoxia (loss of oxygen) may contribute to the greater levels of purines in synovial fluids. Further research is needed to determine the significance of these findings to the disease processes of rheumatoid arthritis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Joints, Joints (Anatomy), Measurement, Arthritis, Inflammation, Uric acid, Purines, Xanthine

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Enhanced jejunal production of antibodies to Klebsiella and other Enterobacteria in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis

Article Abstract:

Immune activity in the intestines appears to be increased in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Antibody levels to three intestinal infections were measured in intestinal fluid samples from 19 patients with AS, 14 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 22 healthy volunteers. Antibody levels to Klebsiella pneumoniae were higher among patients with AS compared to those with RA. The two patient groups with joint diseases had higher antibody levels to all three infections than the volunteers. Antibiotic treatment had no effect on intestinal antibody levels among patients with AS.

Rheumatoid arthritis, Enterobacteriaceae, Ankylosing spondylitis, Klebsiella

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