A study published in the journal Gastroenterology by an international team led by McMaster University in Canada, could pave the way for the development of new therapies against celiac disease, the autoimmune disease that causes a strong inflammatory reaction when you eat gluten-containing foods. Its spread has almost doubled in the last 25 years. It is estimated that in Italy it affects about 600 thousand people, 60% of whom have not yet received a diagnosis.
Those who suffer from celiac disease are forced to avoid all foods that contain traces of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. To date, there are no effective therapies: although vaccines and nanoparticles capable of creating immunological tolerance to gluten are being studied, clinical trials have not yet produced convincing results.
Pinpointing the precise trigger of the immune reaction to gluten is crucial to finding effective therapies. Until now, it was thought that the inflammatory response occurred in the intestinal wall and involved only cells of the immune system, but in reality the picture is much more complex. Thanks to a model of the intestinal epithelium reconstructed in the laboratory, it was possible to demonstrate for the first time which cells are directly involved in the activation of the immune system. It was possible to observe which molecules alert the immune cells, warning them of the presence of gluten, and by reconstructing the entire chain of events, it was demonstrated that the epithelium plays a crucial role in activating the immune response.
According to the study’s first author, Sara Rahmani, this means that in the future it may be possible to prevent celiac disease in people at risk by identifying the presence of the pathogen and inhibiting its interaction with gluten and the intestinal epithelium.