Is it worth investigating splenic function in patients with celiac disease?

Figure 1 Schematic representation of immune and filtering function of the spleen. IgM: Immunoglobulin M; Treg: T-regulatory cells.

Figure 2 Correlation between circulating pitted red cells and immunoglobulin M memory B cells in splenectomised patients (A) and hyposplenic celiac patients (B). Among the latter, those affected by pre-malignant or malignant complications of celiac disease are indicated with a square, those affected by concomitant autoimmune disorders are indicated with a triangle. IgM: Immunoglobulin M.