Celiac Disease is the most prevalent autoimmune disease in the world
Grasping how the disease works and finding alternative treatments is crucial to improve Celiac Disease patients’ health and well-being.
It is also
- The only one with a known trilogy of trigger (ingested gluten), auto-antibody (anti-transglutaminase-2) and genes (HLA DQ 2/8)
- The only one with patients rendering fully asymptomatic (by excluding the trigger), instead of only partially controlling symptoms (through chronic medication, with important side effects) as happens with all other autoimmune diseases
Yet, it is still a fairly unknown disease
- Frequently confused with a food allergy
- Minimized the required rigorous care with the patients’ gluten-free diet, to prevent several serious diseases, like cancer or infertility
Some facts about Celiac Disease
Some questions that remain unanswered
- Why do some people with a genetic predisposition to Celiac Disease develop the disease while others don’t?
- Are there other genetic and/or environmental factors besides eating gluten?
- Does the human microbiota have an influence on Celiac Disease development?
- How is gluten digested?
- Which are the most immunogenic epitopes of this huge protein only present in wheat, rye and barley?
- Do all participate equally in Celiac Disease triggering?
- Does bacteria influence gluten epitope presentation to the immune system?
CeliAct(TIV) Project
CeliAct(TIV) project aims to advance the knowledge on Celiac Disease pathophysiology by dissecting mechanisms of gluten-microbiota-immune system interactions.
One aim is to characterize the bacterial microbiota structure of Celiac Disease patients and their first-degree relatives. Are there distinct features in a Celiac Disease patient? What are these bacteria doing? Do they impact gluten digestion?
Another aim is to contribute to the understanding of gluten-microbiota-immune system interplay. Do bacteria influence gluten digests presentation to the immune system? Do they contribute to gut inflammation and gluten or bacteria translocation?
Why does this research matter?
Avoiding gluten is currently the only method for thwarting intestinal damage, relieving symptoms and prevent complications. But eating even the tiniest fraction of gluten immediately re-triggers symptoms and intestinal damage in most Celiac Disease patients. Moreover, around 30% Celiac Disease patients still have symptoms despite avoiding gluten, having no alternative treatment for their disease.
Talks and Events
Sónia Gonçalves Pereira was invited to participate in the event “2024 Beyond Celiac Research Summit”, held at Children Hospital’s of Philadelphia, USA, on October 26th,...
Flávio Costa participated in the biennial meeting of the International Society for Study of Celiac Disease (ISSCD), the largest global meeting in the field of...
Ana Roque participated in the 10th International Human Microbiome Consortium (IHMC) Congress 2024, held in Rome, 22-25 June 2024, where experts from the field, as...
Sónia Gonçalves Pereira participated in Portuguese Science Summit 2024, the largest annual Science and Innovation event in Portugal, held in Porto, 3-5 July, under the...
Petition for equity in access to treatment for patients with celiac disease: reimbursement of alternative gluten-free food products to conventional ones. To read, sign and...
On the 25th of October, the research team at ciTechCare received a visit from one of our international collaborators Dr. Alfonso Benítez-Páez. In a scientific...
Publications
Luz, Vanessa C. C.; Pereira, Sónia Gonçalves. “Celiac disease gut microbiome studies in the third millennium: reviewing the findings and gaps of available literature”. Frontiers...
Roque, Ana; Zanker, Joyce; Brígido, Sara; Tomaz, Maria Beatriz; Gonçalves, André; Barbeiro, Sandra; Benítez-Páez, Alfonso; Pereira, Sónia Gonçalves. “Dietary patterns drive loss of fiber-foraging species...
Roque, A., & Pereira, S. G. (2024). Bacteria: Potential Make-or-Break Determinants of Celiac Disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(4), 2090. doi: 10.3390/ijms25042090 AbstractCeliac disease...
Funding Sources
Research Team
CeliAct(TIV) Project
Is led by
Sónia Gonçalves Pereira
Principal Investigator
Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology
Polytechnic of Leiria, Portugal
Daniela Cipreste Vaz
Co-Principal Investigator
Chemistry Center of Coimbra
University of Coimbra, Portugal
In collaboration with
Katri Lindfors
Celiac Disease Research Center
University of Tampere, Finland
and her team
Alfonso Benitez Paez
Centro Investigación Príncipe Felipe
Valencia, Spain
and his team
Alessio Fasano
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, United States of America
and his team
Catarina Reis
Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology
Polytechnic of Leiria, Portugal
And have as local team members
Ana Isabel Roque
PhD student
Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology
Polytechnic of Leiria, Portugal
2 MSc technicians
To be recruited