Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Where Your Contribution Counts!
    eNewsletter
    Support Us!
  • Record is Archived

    This article is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Jefferson Adams
    Jefferson Adams

    Scientists Claim to Isolate Molecular Trigger for Celiac Disease

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.
    Scientists Claim to Isolate Molecular Trigger for Celiac Disease - New Science Translational Medicine research on celiac trigger
    Caption: New Science Translational Medicine research on celiac trigger

    Celiac.com 07/23/2010 - In a breakthrough that may pave the way for the development of the first drug treatments for celiac disease, researchers claim to have identified the molecular triggers for the chronic, painful gut disorder.

    Since people with celiac disease must remain gluten-free for life, and since many foods are contaminated with gluten, many people with celiac disease are at risk of developing intestinal damage and other associated problems over time, says Robert Anderson, senior author of the study, and head of the celiac disease research laboratory at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Parkville, Australia.

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    In Anderson's view, developing a drug that would control the immune response to gluten "would be a much more efficient way of dealing with celiac disease."

    However, he adds, a lack of understanding about how gluten triggers the immune system response in celiacs has prevented researchers from pursuing such therapies.

    Gluten is actually made-up of numerous different protein strands, and, until now, no one has teased out just which protein strands are inducing the immune response seen in celiac disease.

    To design drugs that will effectively treat celiac disease, scientists must first understand exactly which of the gluten molecules are triggering the immune response.

    For their study, Anderson and his associates analyzed immune responses in blood samples from more than 200 celiac disease patients who had eaten meals containing gluten.

    The team then performed thousands of gluten challenges on the samples using isolated fragments of gluten protein. Interestingly, of the thousands of gluten fragments they tested, only three of them triggered an immune reaction.

    That only three of the thousands of protein fragments in gluten provokes an immune response suggests that "a very precise trigger is driving the immune response" in celiac disease, Anderson said. "The problem is not so much gluten, it's really these three peptides."

    The authors also noted that most of the immune response to gluten appears tied to a single type of immune system cell, called the T cell. Their results appear in the July 21 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

    According to Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, even with strong evidence against the three peptides in question, there may be more to the story. It's possible that the study missed other offending protein fragments, and that there are more players in the adverse immune response in people with celiac disease.

    Interestingly, sequences from ω-gliadin (wheat) and C-hordein (barley), rather than α-gliadin, proved to be the immunodominant trigger, regardless of the grain consumed.

    But before folks with celiac disease get too worked up about a possible cure, they need to remember that, because the study looked at patients with a particular genetic susceptibility to the disease, the findings do not apply to all people with celiac disease.

    Although most people with celiac disease share this genetic background, others do not. That means the findings won't apply to everyone with the disease. Anderson and his colleagues are currently working to identify which gluten proteins induce the immune response in the other celiac patients.

    The limited diversity of pathogenic T cells in celiac disease indicates that researchers should be able to develop peptide-based treatments for both celiac disease and likely for other HLA-restricted immune diseases.

    Phase I clinical trials of a drug based on the three isolated fragments of gluten protein are currently underway in Australia.

    Researchers hope the drug will successfully desensitize celiac patients by introducing small amounts of the offending proteins under controlled conditions. They expect results within the next couple of months.

    The current study received funding from Nexpep, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Coeliac UK, the Coeliac Research Fund, and others.

    Source:

    • Open Original Shared Link



    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Guest Karin

    Posted

    Thanks, this gives my six year old hope:)

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Maudie wood

    Posted

    Can't wait to hear results!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Ruth

    Anyone looking for a cure for celiac disease has my approval.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Pam

    Thank you Jefferson, This was great information to know about, very interesting stuff. I do feel hopeful. I really appreciate your articles and writing style. Again thanks. Sincerely, Pam

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Gail

    Very good article on Molecular Triggers

    Thank You

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Jakob

    Posted

    Fantastic news, I'm happy to hear that other countries have some serious researchers doing progress. Here in Denmark we feel left behind.

    Thanks:)

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Loretta

    Posted

    I am really happy to hear about these trials. I have prayed that a medication could help us celiac patients. Great news.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Geeta

    Posted

    Thanks, with this article. I am getting hopeful for my nine years old daughter.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Geeta

    Quite hopeful.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Guest
    This is now closed for further comments

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate
  • About Me

    Jefferson Adams

    Jefferson Adams is Celiac.com's senior writer and Digital Content Director. He earned his B.A. and M.F.A. at Arizona State University. His articles, essays, poems, stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and websites, including North American Project, Antioch Review, Caliban, Mississippi Review, Slate, and more. He is the author of more than 2,500 articles on celiac disease. His university coursework includes studies in science, scientific methodology, biology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, logic, and advanced research. He previously devised health and medical content for Colgate, Dove, Pfizer, Sharecare, Walgreens, and more. Jefferson has spoken about celiac disease to the media, including an appearance on the KQED radio show Forum, and is the editor of numerous books, including "Cereal Killers" by Scott Adams and Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

    >VIEW ALL ARTICLES BY JEFFERSON ADAMS

     


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Related Articles

    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 04/10/2009 - According to the latest findings by a Norwegian research team, the inner workings of a particular enzymatic reaction is helping scientists figure out how celiac disease develops.
    In the latest issue of the Journal of Proteome Research, doctors Siri Dørum, Burkhard Fleckenstein, and associates at Norway’s University of Oslo and Rikshospitalet University Hospital describe how they used a quantitative MS method to chart a significant association between the amount of deamidation and the rate at which various epitopes are recognized by T cells of people with celiac disease.
    The team set out to determine whether the rate of TG2 deamidation correlates with T cell recognition of gluten peptide epitopes.
    Celiac disease is a common digestive disorder, in which pe...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 06/18/2009 - According to the results of a recent study, complete recovery of intestinal mucosa occurs very rarely in patients with celiac disease, despite adherence to a gluten-free diet.
    Generally, when people with celiac disease go on a gluten-free diet, they can expect to enjoy some healing of small intestinal mucosa. However, new data casts doubt over how much of this benefit is experienced in adult celiac patients.
    In order to analyze the factors that influence histological outcome of a gluten-free diet in a large cohort of adult celiac patients, a team of researchers reviewed data on 465 consecutive celiac patients studied before and during the gluten-free diet.
    The team was made up of A. Lanzini, F. Lanzarotto, V. Villanacci, A. Mora, S. Bertolazzi, D. Turini...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 11/07/2011 - Fat-soluble vitamin malabsorption, inflammation and/or under-nutrition put children with celiac disease at risk for decreased bone mineral density.
    A research team recently set out to determine how vitamin D and K might influence bone mineral density and bone growth in children and adolescents with celiac disease. The study team included D. R. Mager, J. Qiao, and J. Turner.
    The team's goal was to examine the interrelationships between vitamin K/D levels and lifestyle factors on bone mass density in children and adolescents with celiac disease at diagnosis and after 1 year on the gluten-free diet.
    The team studied children and adolescents aged 3–17 years with biopsy proven celiac disease at diagnosis and after 1 year on the gluten-free diet.
    To m...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 11/04/2013 - The mechanisms of cerebellar degeneration associated to prolonged and excessive alcohol intake remain unclear. Additional or even alternative causes of cerebellar degeneration are often overlooked in suspected cases of alcohol-related ataxia.
    A team of researchers recently set out to investigate the prevalence of gluten-related serological markers in patients with alcohol-related ataxia, and to compare the pattern of brain involvement on magnetic resonance imaging between patients with alcohol and gluten ataxias.
    The research team included Stuart Currie, Nigel Hoggard, Matthew J. R. Clark, David S. Sanders, Iain D. Wilkinson, Paul D. Griffiths, and Marios Hadjivassiliou.
    They are variously affiliated with the Academic Unit of Radiology at...


  • Recent Activity

    1. - trents replied to JustGemi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      8

      SCARED: What Do These Test Results Mean?

    2. - Scott Adams replied to Kaylee G's topic in Gluten-Free Recipes & Cooking Tips
      1

      Learning to cook for myself

    3. - JustGemi replied to JustGemi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      8

      SCARED: What Do These Test Results Mean?

    4. - Scott Adams replied to Raquel2021's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Went to see a gastroenterologist today and


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,474
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Chriscan
    Newest Member
    Chriscan
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Popular Now

    • JustGemi
    • Linedancegal
    • Hannah24
      9
    • jessiemariecar
    • Rhonda H
  • Popular Articles

    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
  • Upcoming Events

×
×
  • Create New...