Metabolic Pathway Changes in Gout and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Finding Etiology from Human Synovial Fluid

Abstract

Gout and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are two forms of inflammatory arthritis. Gout causes joint pain and inflammation due to uric acid crystals forming in the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that damages the lining of synovial joints, it can also affect the skin, eyes, brain, heart, and lungs. The etiology of the diseases is not totally understood and there is no cure. Previously studies have found that there is a metabolic link to these conditions. This study will analyze synovial fluid metabolites from one patient with gout and one patient with RA. These metabolite concentrations will be compared to metabolite concentrations from healthy synovial fluid samples to find statistically significant differences in metabolites. These metabolites will show which metabolic pathways are disturbed in the diseases to discern which metabolic pathways are affected in gout and RA. This will lead to a better understanding of what causes these conditions