The effect of montelukast in a model of gouty arthritis induced by sodium monourate crystals Efecto de montelukast en un modelo de artritis gotosa inducido por cristales de monourato de sodio

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) are the first line of therapy in acute gouty arthritis. NSAIDs inhibit the cyclooxygenase pathway, but not the lipooxygenase activity and can have many adverse effects and thus have a limited effect on the control of inflammation in this disease. In this work we studied the effect of montelukast on the cellular inflammatory infiltrate in a model of murine arthritis induced by sodium monourate crystals (SMU), using a subcutaneous air cavity (air pouch) in BALB/c mice. Seven groups of BALB/c mice (n = 4) were distributed into five experimental groups and two inflammatory control groups, a positive and a negative one. Previous to SMU exposure, the experimental groups received montelukast (1 and 0.01 mg/Kg/w) and/or indomethacine (2.5 mg/Kg/w), followed by administration of SMU in the air pouch. The total and differential counts of inflammatory cells were analyzed after 2, 6, 12 and 24 hours. Montelukast, significantly reduced the total number of cells (p<0.05), with a predominant impact on polymorphonuclear over mononuclear cells, especially after 12 hours of the medication. The montelukast/indometacine combination showed an additive effect. Our data show that montelukast has an anti-inflammatory effect in the model of gouty arthritis. Consequently, anti-leukotrienes could represent a new and effective therapy, either isolated or combined with conventional therapy of gouty arthritis En artritis gotosa aguda las drogas antiinflamatorias no esteroideas son la primera línea terapéutica. Este tratamiento no es satisfactorio porque inhibe la ciclooxigenasa sin modificar la actividad de la lipooxigenasa, y puede acompa arse de numerosos efectos adversos. Investigamos el efecto de montelukast sobre el infiltrado celular inflamatorio en un modelo de artritis múrida inducida por cristales de monourato de sodio (MUS) en el modelo experimental de la bolsa de aire (air pouch). Siete grupos de ratones BALB/c (n = 4) fueron distribuidos en cinco grupos experimentales y dos grupos controles inflamatorios: positivo y negativo. Los grupos experimentales recibieron, montelukast (1 y 0,01 mg/Kg/p) y/o indometacina (2,5 mg/Kg/p) por vía oral, previo a la administración de MUS en la bolsa del aire. El conteo absoluto y diferencial de las células inflamatorias fue analizado después de 2, 6, 12 y 24 horas de tratamiento. El tratamiento con montelukast redujo significativamente el número total de células presentes en el infiltrado inflamatorio (p < 0,05), con un efecto mayor sobre polimorfonucleares que sobre las células mononucleare