Celiac.com 10/25/2017 - For people with celiac disease, eating gluten proteins from wheat, barley, and rye triggers an auto-immune response, and the accompanying physical symptoms.
A team of researchers recently set out to engineer low-gluten wheat strains that also have low-reactivity for people with celiac disease. To meet their goals, the team designed two sgRNAs to target a conserved region adjacent to the coding sequence for the 33-mer in the -gliadin genes. They then sought to evaluate the results.
The research team included Susana Sánchez-León, Javier Gil-Humanes, Carmen V. Ozuna, María J. Giménez, Carolina Sousa, Daniel F. Voytas, and Francisco Barro. They are variously affiliated with the Departamento de Mejora Genética Vegetal, Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (IAS-CSIC...

Celiac.com 02/11/2019 - Researchers have shown that CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology can be used to remove epitopes from gliadin protein in gluten. These molecules trigger the adverse immune response seen in people with celiac disease. However, will Europe’s strict GM rules prevent this discovery from being used to create new gluten-free products for people with celiac disease?
Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in the UK, have shown that CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology can be used to remove epitopes from gliadin protein in gluten. Gluten contains an assortment glutenin and gliadin proteins. Most of these gliadins and many of the glutenins contain immunogenic epitopes that trigger an immune r...

Celiac.com 06/10/2019 - Gluten-free wheat is surely an oxymoron, right? How can wheat be gluten-free? Well, researchers are currently creating wheat strains that exclude the proteins that trigger immune reactions in people with celiac disease and gluten-sensitivity. The result could be the first wheat that is safe for people with celiac disease.
The omega-1,2 gliadins are a group of wheat gluten proteins that contain immunodominant epitopes for celiac disease and also have been associated with food allergies. The research team recently set out to reduce the toxicity of gliadin proteins in wheat.
To reduce the levels of these proteins in the flour, the team used an RNA interference plasmid, which targeted a 141 bp region at the 5′ end of an omega-1,2 gliadin gene, to genetically tra...

Celiac.com 10/21/2024 - Wheat has been a staple in human diets for centuries, but for individuals with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities, consuming wheat can lead to serious health complications. The culprit? Gluten, particularly the gliadin fractions found in wheat, which trigger immune responses in those affected by celiac disease. A new study presents groundbreaking advancements in the field of gluten-free wheat production. Researchers have successfully used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to target and reduce gluten content by editing the genes responsible for the immunogenic gliadin proteins.
Targeting Gliadin Genes with CRISPR/Cas9
The researchers in this study focused on two major groups of gliadin proteins: gamma (γ) and omega (ω) gliadins. These proteins are known t...