Question

5. Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition of the gut that is triggered by ingestion of gluten in certain individuals. In people with celiac disease, gluten-specific Th1 cells are formed as well as antibodies to the self-antigen transglutaminase (an enzyme). The inflammatory cytokines produced by the Th1 cells and autoantibodies damage the intestine.

a. Explain how celiac disease differs from an “allergy,” by describing how the response to gluten in celiac disease differs from an allergic response to food allergens.

b. Gluten is present in our typical diets, and most of us consume gluten regularly. Based on the factors thought to contribute to development of autoimmune disease, what factor(s) do you think cause some people to develop Celiac disease, but not others?

Answer 1

a. Gluten is a type of protein found in certain grains including wheat, barle etc.,

Celiac Disease is an inherited autoimmune disorder, this condition affects the digestive process of the small intestine. When a person who has this disease consumes food that contains gluten, the immune system launches an attack against the gluten, mistakenly damaging healthy cells lining the small intestine in the process.

b. Gluten is just one of the hundreds of proteins found in wheat.A Wheat allergy is an immune reaction to any of those proteins. When someone who has a wheat allergy consumes wheat, a certain group of white blood cells called B-cells begins to produce immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies which attack the wheat molecules as if they were foreign invaders. While this is happening, other tissues in the body send out chemical messengers that alert the rest of the body to the presence of a threat.