Pollutants make rheumatic diseases worse: Facts on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exposure and rheumatic diseases.
BACKGROUND
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants that bioaccumulate in adipose tissue, disturbing its metabolism and the balance of adipokines, related to obesity. The altering secretion pattern of adipokines from the adipose tissue and the increasing mechanical load in weight-bearing joints presented in obesity condition, are risk factors for osteoarthritis development. The most prevalent rheumatic diseases, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, are chronic conditions that target the whole joints, leading to increasing disability and health care cost. The goal of this focused review is to summarize the current knowledge on the role of PCBs in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis.


METHODS
A PubMed search was managed using keywords as "rheumatic diseases", "polychlorinated biphenyls", "obesity" and "endocrine disruption".
The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis has been reported to be increased especially in urban areas in industrialized countries, emphasizing the importance of environment in the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases. Analysis of two cohorts exposed to PCBs food contamination showed high incidence of arthritis. In addition, PCBs in serum correlated positively with the prevalence of self-reported arthritis. Few studies support the hypothesis that osteoarthritis development could be related to PCBs induction of chondrocytes apoptosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Evidences have emerged for a relationship between PCBs and development of several types of arthritis. Further research is encouraged to determine the correlation between PCBs exposure and the development of rheumatic diseases.
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Departamento de Bioloxía Celular e Molecular, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña (UDC), Campus de A Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain.
Vanessa
V
Abella
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Tamara
T
Pérez
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Morena
M
Scotece
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Javier
J
Conde
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Claudio
C
Pirozzi
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Jesús
J
Pino
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 7, Cellular and Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Francisca
F
Lago
SERGAS, Division of Rheumatology, Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Miguel Ángel
MÁ
González-Gay
SERGAS, Division of Rheumatology, Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Antonio
A
Mera
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Rodolfo
R
Gómez
SERGAS, Research Laboratory 9, NEIRID Lab (Neuroendocrine Interactions in Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases), Institute of Medical Research (IDIS), Santiago University Clinical Hospital, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Electronic address: oreste.gualillo@sergas.es.
Oreste
O
Gualillo
D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000633:toxicity*; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Endocrine disruption; Environmental pollutants; Osteoarthritis; Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Rheumatoid arthritis