Small intestinal T cells of celiac disease patients recognize a natural pepsin fragment of gliadin

Yvonne Van De Wal, Yvonne M C Kooy, Peter A. Van Veelen, Salvador A. Peña, Luisa M. Mearin, Øyvind Molberg, Knut E A Lundin, Ludvig M. Sollid, Tuna Mutis, Willemien E. Benckhuijsen, Jan Wouter Drijfhout, Frits Koning

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

226 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Celiac disease is a common severe intestinal disease resulting from intolerance to dietary wheat gluten and related proteins. The large majority of patients expresses the HLA-DQ2 and/or DQ8 molecules, and gluten-specific HLA-DQ-restricted T cells have been found at the site of the lesion in the gut. The nature of peptides that are recognized by such T cells, however, has been unclear so far. We now report the identification of a gliadin-derived epitope that dominantly is recognized by intestinal gluten-specific HLA-DQ8- restricted T cells. The characterization of such epitopes is a key step toward the development of strategies to interfere in mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of celiac disease.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10050-10054
Number of pages5
JournalPROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume95
Issue number17
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Aug 1998

Cite this