Editorial
Copyright ©2007 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 28, 2007; 13(8): 1156-1161
Published online Feb 28, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i8.1156
New aspects in celiac disease
MI Torres, MA López Casado, A Ríos
MI Torres, Department of Experimental Biology, University of Jaén, Jaén 23071, Spain
MA López Casado, Department of Gastroenterology Pediatrics. Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Granada
A Ríos, Department Cell Biology. University of Granada, Granada
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Torres MI, Department of Experimental Biology, University of Jaén, Paraje de las Lagunillas s/n, Jaén 23071, Spain. mitorres@ujaen.es
Telephone: +34-953-212762 Fax: +34-953-211875
Received: September 1, 2006
Revised: October 27, 2006
Accepted: December 21, 2006
Published online: February 28, 2007
Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is a common autoimmune disorder characterized by an immune response to ingested gluten and has a strong HLA association with HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 molecules, but human HLA-DQ risk factors do not explain the entire genetic susceptibility to gluten intolerance. CD is caused by the lack of immune tolerance (oral tolerance) to wheat gluten. In this sense, the expression of soluble HLA-G in CD is of special interest because the molecule plays an important role in the induction of immune tolerance. The enhanced expression of soluble HLA-G found in CD may be part of a mechanism to restore the gluten intolerance. In this editorial, we review recent progress in understanding CD in relation to its prevalence, diagnosis and possible mechanisms of pathogenesis.

Keywords: Celiac disease; Oral tolerance; IL-10; TGF-beta; Gluten intolerance