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A role for anti-transglutaminase 2 autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of coeliac disease?

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Abstract

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune-mediated disorder with both innate and adaptive immune components. The disease is triggered by dietary gluten, which provokes the development of a massive immune reaction leading to the destruction of the small-intestinal mucosal morphology and intestinal dysfunction. Besides the typical small-bowel symptoms extraintestinal manifestations may also arise in a subset of coeliac disease patients. In addition, gluten evokes the production of antibodies mainly targeting deamidated gluten peptides or transglutaminase 2. Although coeliac disease has traditionally been regarded as a T cell-mediated disorder, this review discusses the role of the gluten-induced disease-specific anti-transglutaminase 2-autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of the disease.

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Acknowledgments

The Coeliac Disease Study Group has been financially supported by the Research Council for Health, The Academy of Finland, The Pediatric Research Foundation, the Competitive Research Funding of the Pirkanmaa Hospital District, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, the Finnish Medical Foundation, the Research Fund of the Finnish Coeliac Society and the European Commission (contract number MRTN-CT-2006-036032).

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Lindfors, K., Kaukinen, K. & Mäki, M. A role for anti-transglutaminase 2 autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of coeliac disease?. Amino Acids 36, 685–691 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-008-0127-5

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