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Detection of hydrogen sulfide in plasma and knee‐joint synovial fluid from rheumatoid arthritis patients: relation to clinical and laboratory measures of inflammation
Author(s) -
Whiteman Matthew,
Haigh Richard,
Tarr Joanna M.,
Gooding Kim M.,
Shore Angela C.,
Winyard Paul G.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05556.x
Subject(s) - synovial fluid , rheumatoid arthritis , inflammation , medicine , osteoarthritis , white blood cell , arthritis , gastroenterology , immunology , pathology , alternative medicine
Blood concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) are markedly elevated in several animal models of inflammation. Pharmacological inhibition of H 2 S synthesis reduces inflammation and swelling, suggesting that H 2 S is a potential inflammatory mediator. However, it is currently unknown whether H 2 S synthesis is perturbed in human inflammatory conditions or whether H 2 S is present in synovial fluid. We analyzed paired plasma and synovial fluid (SF) aspirates from rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 20) and osteoarthritis (OA; n = 4) patients and plasma from age matched healthy volunteers ( n = 20). Median plasma H 2 S concentrations from healthy volunteers and RA and OA patients were 37.6, 36.6, and 37.6 μM, respectively. In RA patients, median synovial fluid H 2 S levels (62.4 μM) were significantly higher than paired plasma ( P = 0.002) and significantly higher than in synovial fluid from OA patients (25.1 μM; P = 0.009). SF H 2 S levels correlated with clinical indices of disease activity (tender joint count, r = 0.651; P < 0.05) and markers of chronic inflammation; Europhile count ( r =−0.566; P < 0.01) and total white cell count ( r =−0.703; P < 0.01). Our study shows for the first time that H 2 S is present in synovial fluid and levels correlated with inflammatory and clinical indices in RA patients.