Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41590678›Full record

ArticleMetabolites2026

Synovial Joint Fluid Metabolomic Profiles and Pathways Differentiate Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Psoriatic Arthritis.

Ozan Kaplan, Rositsa Karalilova, Zguro Batalov, Konstantin Batalov, Maria Kazakova, Victoria Sarafian, Emine Koç, Mustafa Çelebier, Feza Korkusuz

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Metabolites, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Ozan KaplanDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06230, Türkiye.ORCID 0000-0001-7429-9349
Rositsa KaralilovaDepartment of Propaedeutics of Internal Diseases, Clinic of Rheumatology, University Hospital Kaspela, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0001-8030-0529
Zguro BatalovDepartment of Propaedeutics of Internal Diseases, Clinic of Rheumatology, University Hospital Kaspela, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Konstantin BatalovDepartment of Propaedeutics of Internal Diseases, Clinic of Rheumatology, University Hospital Kaspela, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Maria KazakovaDepartment of Medical Biology, Research Institute at Medical University of Plovdiv, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Victoria SarafianDepartment of Medical Biology, Research Institute at Medical University of Plovdiv, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0003-1501-0175
Emine KoçDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06230, Türkiye.
Mustafa ÇelebierDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06230, Türkiye.ORCID 0000-0001-7712-5512
Feza KorkusuzDepartment of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06230, Türkiye.ORCID 0000-0001-9486-3541

Funding

European Union-NextGenerationEU, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, project No BG-RRP-2.004-0007-C01
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDistinguishing between osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) remains challenging despite different underlying mechanisms. Synovial fluid reflects metabolic changes within affected joints, yet comprehensive metabolomic comparisons across these conditions are limited. We aimed to identify disease-specific metabolic signatures in synovial fluid that could improve differential diagnosis and reveal therapeutic targets.

methodsWe collected synovial fluid from 39 patients (20 OA, 5 RA, and 14 PsA) during routine knee arthrocentesis between January 2023 and February 2024. Following metabolite extraction, we performed untargeted metabolomic profiling using quadrupole time-of-flight liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (Q-TOF LC/MS). Data underwent multivariate statistical analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), to identify discriminatory metabolites.

resultsWhile unsupervised analysis showed overlap between groups, supervised PLS-DA achieved clear metabolic separation. RA samples showed elevated itaconic acid, indicating inflammatory macrophage activation, and increased O-acetylserine, suggesting altered one-carbon metabolism. Hypoxanthine was decreased, which reflected severe metabolic stress. PsA exhibited the unique elevation of 4,4-dimethylcholestane and 2-oxoarginine. These metabolites have previously been unreported in this disease. OA demonstrated increased hippuric acid and indoleacetic acid, which are both gut microbiota products, supporting the gut-joint axis hypothesis.

conclusionsEach arthritis type displayed distinct metabolic fingerprints in synovial fluid. Candidate discriminatory metabolites, including gut-derived metabolites in OA and specific lipid alterations in PsA, open new diagnostic and therapeutic avenues. Given the limited RA sample size (

Indexed as

arthritismetabolomicsosteoarthritispsoriatic arthritisrheumatoidsynovial fluid

Identifiers

PMID41590678
PMCPMC12844152

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.