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Are Transglutaminase 2 Inhibitors Able to Reduce Gliadin-Induced Toxicity Related to Celiac Disease? A Proof-of-Concept Study

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Abstract

Purpose

Celiac disease is an autoimmune-mediated enteropathy characterized by adaptive and innate immune responses to dietary gluten in wheat, rye and barley in genetically susceptible individuals. Gluten-derived gliadin peptides are deamidated by transglutaminase 2 (TG2), leading to an immune response in the small-intestinal mucosa. TG2 inhibitors have therefore been suggested as putative drugs for celiac disease. In this proof-of-concept study we investigated whether two TG2 inhibitors, cell-impermeable R281 and cell-permeable R283, can prevent the toxic effects of gliadin in vitro and ex vivo.

Methods

Intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells were treated with peptic-tryptic-digested gliadin (PT-gliadin) with or without TG2 inhibitors and thereafter direct toxic effects (transepithelial resistance, cytoskeletal rearrangement, junction protein expression and phoshorylation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2) were determined. In an organ culture of celiac-patient-derived small-intestinal biopsies we measured secretion of TG2-autoantibodies into the culture medium and the densities of CD25- and interleukin (IL) 15-positive cells, forkhead box P3 (FOXP3)-positive regulatory T cells (Tregs) and Ki-67-positive proliferating crypt cells.

Results

Both TG2 inhibitors evinced protective effects against gliadin-induced detrimental effects in Caco-2 cells but the cell-impermeable R281 seemed slightly more potent. In addition, TG2 inhibitor R281 modified the gluten-induced increase in CD25- and IL15-positive cells, Tregs and crypt cell proliferation, but had no effect on antibody secretion in celiac-patient-derived biopsies.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that TG2 inhibitors are able to reduce certain gliadin-induced effects related to responses in vitro and ex vivo.

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Acknowledgements

The Celiac Disease Study Group has been financially supported by the Academy of Finland, the SalWe Research Program for Intelligent Monitoring of Health and Wellbeing (Tekes—the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation grant 648/10), the Pirkanmaa Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, the Competitive Research Funding of Tampere University Hospital, the Research Fund of the Finnish Celiac Society, the European Commission IAPP grant TRANSCOM (Contract number PIA-GA-2010-251506) and Elna Kaarina Savolainen’s Legacy Allocated for the Development of Cancer Treatment.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Research Center, University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, 33014, Finland

    Tiina Rauhavirta, Mikko Oittinen, Markku Mäki & Katri Lindfors

  2. Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Rami Kivistö, Pekka T. Männistö & J. Arturo Garcia-Horsman

  3. School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK

    Zhuo Wang & Martin Griffin

  4. Department of Gastroenterology and Alimentary Tract Surgery, Tampere University Hospital and School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Katri Kaukinen

Authors
  1. Tiina Rauhavirta
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  2. Mikko Oittinen
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  5. J. Arturo Garcia-Horsman
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  7. Martin Griffin
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Correspondence to Katri Lindfors.

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Rauhavirta, T., Oittinen, M., Kivistö, R. et al. Are Transglutaminase 2 Inhibitors Able to Reduce Gliadin-Induced Toxicity Related to Celiac Disease? A Proof-of-Concept Study. J Clin Immunol 33, 134–142 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10875-012-9745-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10875-012-9745-5

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