Ultrastructural study of siderosomes in the synovial membrane of rheumatoid arthritis and degenerative joint diseases

Abstract EN

Synovial biopsies were taken from three rheumatoid arthritis patients, three osteoarthritis ones and two individuals without joint disease.

Ultrastructural study was done for each specimen.

Our aim was to detect the presence andfrequency of iron deposits within the lysosomal bodies (siderosomes) and the extent of tissue damage in severe inflammatory and degenerative joint diseases.

Electron microscopy revealed marked increase in the frequency of the presence of siderosomes in the synovial cells of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

However, they were found to a much lesser extent in the synovial cells of the osteoarthritic patients and not detected at all in those of the controls.

Moreover, these iron deposits were surrounded by tissue lysis in cases of rheumatoid arthritis indicating their role in the inflammatory process as well as the severity of the condition.