Gluten peptide aggregates and inflammation

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Pasta, bread, biscuits: supermarkets are stocking ever more gluten-free versions of their products. For people who suffer from coeliac disease or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), this is very practical because, in their case, products that contain gluten cause symptoms that can range from diarrhea to infertility and colon cancer. But should healthy people also go for gluten-free pizza? What is gluten anyway, and why can it be so dangerous? This is precisely the point where our research kicks in – with the aim of gaining greater insights into gluten tolerance. Gluten is a complex mixture of proteins found in cereals like wheat, barley and rye. The main problem is that gluten proteins are not completely broken down in the human body, so large gluten fragments circulate the organism and are expelled in urine. However, some people’s bodies detect gluten fragments as a sign of alarm activating their immune system and lead to inflammation and disease. Once this response occurs, those affected must avoid eating gluten for the rest of their lives. Together with my collaborators, we had proved that undigested gluten fragments form structures like tiny building blocks similar to those formed in Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. These building blocks produce toxic super-structures which possibly have a decisive impact on a person’s state of health. I think these results will help to answer some of the important questions surrounding gluten intolerance and human nutrition. ■

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