Differential Metabolome in Rheumatoid Arthritis: a Brief Perspective

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune, inflammatory disease of the synovium that affects the movable joints. It develops due to the infiltration and invasion of the synovial joints by immune cells. Metabolism is anabolic or catabolic chemical reactions occurring in a cell. The biochemical pathways in synovial and immune cells are altered affecting the downstream metabolite formation. Changes in the metabolite levels alter signaling cascades which further intensify the disease. Despite current knowledge of metabolomics, there remain certain features that need to be elucidated to correlate the differential metabolite levels with RA.

Metabolite profiling can be used to find altered patterns of metabolites in RA. Glucose, lipid, amino acid, and estrogen metabolism are the key pathways that are altered and contribute to the aggravation of RA. The altered metabolic pathways involved in different cells in RA results in complex interactions between metabolites and biomacromolecules; thus, it generates autoantigens. Moreover, understanding the correlation between differential metabolites and disease severity might help reveal potential new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for RA pathogenesis. So, considering the multi-faceted role of altered metabolites in the pathogenesis of RA, metabolic pathways of different cells are needed to be studied for a better understanding of their functions in the disease and thus, improving the present therapeutic strategies.