Comparison of the concentrations of pentosidine in the synovial fluid, serum and urine of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE Pentosidine, an advanced glycation end product (AGE), has recently been observed to be elevated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim was to elucidate which pentosidine levels, i.e. in serum, synovial fluid or urine, are more related to the disease status of RA. METHODS We measured levels of pentosidine in serum, synovial fluid or urine in RA compared with osteoarthritis (OA), and examined the relationship between pentosidine and RA disease activity. Subjects were 20 patients with RA and 22 patients with OA. RESULTS In total RA and OA patients combined, there was a significant correlation between pentosidine in serum, synovial fluid and urine. Pentosidine in serum and synovial fluid was significantly higher in RA than in OA. In RA, there were significant correlations between pentosidine in serum and synovial fluid and C-reactive protein, Lansbury index (LI) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that pentosidine levels in body fluids correlated with each other, and pentosidine in serum and in synovial fluid is associated with the systemic inflammatory activity of RA. Higher or similar concentrations of pentosidine in serum compared with synovial fluids indicate that the elevated pentosidine levels in serum in RA are not derived from the synovial fluid, but from an increase in the formation of pentosidine in the whole body in RA. Among body fluids, serum pentosidine was the superior indicator for RA disease status.