Ethiopathogenesis of  osteoarthrits. Characterization of the degenerative processes and cell death during the degradation of the articular cartilage. He also works on the characteristics of program cell death death by apoptosis in different pathologies and cellular systems. He was among the pioneers to describe programmed cell death by apoptosis (chondroptosis) in chondrocytes from OA articular cartilage of human. samples .

• Kouri J.B., Jimenez S.A., Quintero M., Chico A. (1996). Ultrastructural study of chondrocytes from fibrillated and non-fibrillated human osteoarthritic cartilage. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 4:111-125.
• Kouri J.B., Argüello C., Quintero M., Chico A., Ramos M.A. (1996). Variability in the cell phenotype of aggregates or “clones” of human ostearthritic cartilage. A case report. Biocell. 20:191-200.
• Kouri J.B., Rosales-Encina J.L., Chaudhuri P.P., Luna J., Mena R. (1997). Apoptosis in human osteoarthritic cartilage: a microscopy report. Med. Sci. Res. 25:245-248.
• Kouri J.B., Argüello C., Luna J., Mena R. (1998). The use of microscopical techniques in the study of human osteoarthritic cartilage. An overview. J. Micr. Res. and Tech. 40:22-36.
• Juan B. Kouri, José Manuel Aguilera, Jose Reyes, Karim Abbud Lozoya, Sirenia González. (1999). Apoptotic Chondrocytes from Osteoarthrosic Human Articular Cartilage and abnormal calcification of the subchondral bone. The Journal of Rheumathology 2000,27,1005-1019.
• Karin Aymé Abbud Lozoya and Juan B. Kouri Flores. 2000. A Novel Rat Osteoarthrosis model to assess Apoptosis and Matrix Degradation Pathology Research and Practice. 196, 729-745
• Juan B. Kourí Flores, Karin A. Abbud-Lozoya and Lourdes Roja Morales. Kinetics of the Ultrastructural Changes in Apoptotic Chondrocytes from an Osteoarthrosic Rat Model: A Window of Comparison to the Cellular Mechanisms of Apoptosis in Human Chondrocytes. 2002. Ultrastructural Pathology. 26, 33-40.
• Juan B. Kourí, Karin Abbud-Lozoya. 2002. Criteria for TUNEL labeling in determining apoptosis in human osteoarthritis cartilage: comment on the article by Aigner et al.Arthritis & Rheumatism. 46, 2260-22-61
• Juan B. Kourí PhD, Lourdes Rojas Biol, Elizabeth Pérez MD, Karin A. Abbud PhD. 2002. Modifications of Golgi complex in chondrocytes from Osteoarthrosic (OA) Rat Cartilage J. Histochem. Cytochem. 5:1333-40 .
• N. R. Capin G., P. Talamás R., C. Lavalle M., J. B.Kouri F., A. González R. 2004. Cytoskeleton disruption in chondrocytes from a rat osteoarthrosic (OA)- induced model: It potential role in OA pathogenesis, Histology and Histopathology 2004 19: 1125-1132.
• Roach HI, Aigner T, Kouri JB. Chondroptosis: A variant of apoptotic cell death in chondrocytes? Apoptosis. 2004 May;9(3):265-77.
• Gonzáles, E. and Kouri,J. B. 2004. A new role for chondrocytes as non-profesional phagocytes. An in vitro study. Microscopy Research and Technique.2004 64:269-278.
• Ontogeny of rat chondrocyte proliferation: studies in embryo, adult and osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage.
• Gomez-Camarillo MA, Kouri JB. Cell Res. 2005 Feb;15(2):99-104.
• Chondroptosis: An immunohistochemical study of apoptosis and Golgi complex from human osteoarthritic caertilage. E. Perez H., J. Luna M., L. Rojas M., J.B. Kouri Apoptosis 2005 10; 1105-1110.
• J.B. Kouri and C. Lavalle. Do chondrocytes undergo "activation" and "transdifferentiation" during the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis? A review of the ultrastructural and immunohistochemical evidence. Histology and Histopathology 2006 21: 793-802.
• C Zermeño, J Guzmán-Morales, Y Macotela, G Nava, F Lopez-Barrera, J B Kouri, C Lavalle, G Martínez de la Escalera, and C Clapp. Prolactin inhibits the apoptosis of chondrocytes induced by serum starvation. (2006). Journal of Endocrinology 189(2):R1-8.
• Gonzales S, Fragosos-Soriano RJ, Kouri JB.Chondrocytes interconnecting tracks and cytoplasmic projections observed within the superficial zone of normal human articular cartilage-A transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and two-photon excitation microscopy studies.Microsc Res Tech. 2007 Sep 12;
• Velasquillo C, Garciadiego-Cázares D, Almonte M, Bustamante M, Ibarra C, Kouri JB, Chimal-Monroy J. Expression of MIG-6, WNT-9A, and WNT-7B During Osteoarthritis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. (2007) Nov; 1117:175-80. PMID: 18056042
• Madai A. Gomez-Camarillo,, Maylin Almonte-Becerril, Matilde VÁzquez Tort , Jose Tapia-Ramirez and Juan B Kouri. Chondrocyte Proliferation in a New Culture System. Cell Proliferation (2008).