What is potentially pathogenic role of anti-tTG IgA in the development of celiac disease?

The recent detection of antibodies in celiac patients specific for deamidated gliadin peptides (DGP), the product of tTG binding to gliadin peptides, provides an opportunity to address the correlation between the production of anti-tTG IgA and the antibodies against DGP in celiac patients

A research article to be published on February 21, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The study group is led by Dr. Marietta, Rashtak, and Murray from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN are of interest to the Celiac Disease community, since the data demonstrate that the serum level of anti-tTG IgA is significantly correlated with the serum level of anti-DGP of both the IgG and IgA isotypes in untreated patients. In contrast, only a weak correlation exists between the production of anti-tTG IgG and anti-DGP IgG/IgA. These data would indicate that the immune response by T and B cells to deamidated gliadin is fundamentally different from the immune response by T and B cells to tissue transglutaminase in celiac patients.

These data would also indicate, however, that the immune responses against deamidated gliadin and tTG are significantly correlated with each other, and thereby provide support for the hapten-carrier theory for the origin of anti-tTG IgA.

Reference: Marietta EV, Rashtak S, Murray JA. Correlation analysis of celiac sprue tissue transglutaminase and deamidated gliadin IgG/IgA. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(7): 845-848

http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/845.asp

Correspondence to: Joseph A Murray, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905, United States. murray.joseph@mayo.edu

Telephone: +1-507-2842631 Fax: +1-507-2669081

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.