{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T17:08:34Z","timestamp":1779469714650,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778284800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education","award":["125020501431-0"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["125020501431-0"]}]},{"name":"E. Tchetina"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The aim of this preliminary study was to determine the effect of taurine on the expression of genes involved in glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, inflammation, autophagy, and regenerative activity in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and articular cartilage explants from patients with end-stage rheumatoid arthritis (RA). PBMCs and knee articular cartilage were obtained from 20 patients with RA (3 men and 17 women) aged 62.2 \u00b1 10.9 years, with a mean disease duration of 17.5 years (range: 2\u201343), prior to arthroplasty. PBMCs and cartilage explants were cultured in the presence of 50 \u00b5M taurine. Gene expression was determined using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Protein expression of the examined genes in PBMCs was quantified using ELISA. In the presence of 50 \u00b5M taurine PBMCs from patients with RA demonstrated a significant increase in the expression of genes encoding pyruvate kinase (PKM2), succinate dehydrogenase (SDHB), uncoupler of oxidation and phosphorylation (UCP2), ATP synthase (ATP5B), and unc-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1). At the same time a significant decrease in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)\u03b1 and interleukin (IL)-1\u03b2 expression was noted. In cartilage explants, taurine upregulated SDHB, UCP2, ULK1, and type 2 collagen gene (COL2A1), and decreased TNF\u03b1 expression. We concluded that, under in vitro conditions, taurine can influence the expression of genes involved in glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, inflammation, autophagy, and regenerative processes in PBMCs and articular chondrocytes from patients with end-stage RA.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life16050791","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]],"date-time":"2026-05-22T16:06:08Z","timestamp":1779465968000},"page":"791","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Gene Expression Alterations in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Cartilage Explants from End-Stage Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Response to Taurine: A Pilot Exploratory Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7312-2349","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Tchetina","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Immunology and Molecular Biology Department, Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, Moscow 115522, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3470-9726","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irina","family":"Kushnareva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Surgery Department, Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, Moscow 115522, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ekaterina","family":"Anisimova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Immunology and Molecular Biology Department, Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, Moscow 115522, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3026-069X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Angele","family":"Vienozinskaite","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Immunology and Molecular Biology Department, Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, Moscow 115522, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Oksana","family":"Plastinina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Surgery Department, Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, Moscow 115522, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5626-7404","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maksim","family":"Makarov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Surgery Department, Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, Moscow 115522, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aleksandr","family":"Lila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Osteoartritis Laboratory, Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, Moscow 115522, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"533","DOI":"10.1016\/j.medcli.2023.07.014","article-title":"Rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"161","year":"2023","journal-title":"Med. 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