Grant: Operating Grant

Gluten-related disorders (GRD) include all diseases triggered by dietary gluten. The best characterized condition is celiac disease, a severe inflammation of the small intestine. The only current treatment for celiac disease is a strict gluten-free diet, which has some limitations, as this is a restrictive and expensive diet. An increasing number of people are sensitive to gluten with one in 100 Canadians suffering from celiac disease. The reason for the increase in inflammatory and symptomatic reactions to gluten is unclear, but may relate to changes in dietary and hygiene habits that affect the bacteria that normally inhabit our gut. One of the main problems with gluten is that it consists of proteins that are difficult to break down by our digestive enzymes. Gut bacteria are armed with a variety of enzymes and can completely or incompletely digest gluten. Complete degradation of gluten would be beneficial, but incomplete degradation by gut bacteria may increase the chances to develop celiac disease. In this proposal I will explore the role of gut bacteria isolated from patients with celiac disease and non celiac people in the digestion of dietary gluten and in the modulation of inflammation produced by this common protein in our diet. I propose that the bacteria that inhabit the gut of celiac patients have impaired capacity to digest gluten and that their enzymes produce toxic peptides from gluten that contribute to inflammation. Thus, celiac disease may be prevented, or better treated, by inhibiting these bacteria or their products.