The determination of prolamins in gluten-free food. Introductory remarks.

This paper gives the considerations on the Codex Alimentarius Standard on gluten free food and the levels that are proposed as a new standard. Background for the level of tolerance for gliadin in coeliac patients is given as well as the arguments for the choice of an enzyme immunochemical method for the determination of gliadin in gluten free food.

Elevated level of IgA gliadin antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The possibility that dietary antigens contribute to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been proposed. Moreover, occasional patients have been described in whom coeliac disease and RA coincide. Furthermore, most RA patients are treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are known to increase gut permeability.

A model study of the regulation of gastric acid secretion.

A computer simulation model is presented of the gastric phase regulation of gastric acid secretion in humans. The model is based on experimental data from the literature and includes terms representing gastric pH and gastric volume-dependent gastrin secretion, gastrin-dependent acid secretion, food storage in the stomach, and gastric emptying. We have explored the predictive value of the model in assessing the relative importance of gastric pH-dependent and gastric volume-dependent acid secretion mechanisms under various conditions.

Immunocrossreactivity of antisera against grain prolamines of wheat, rye, barley and oats.

Prolamines extracted from wheat (gliadin), rye (secalin), barley (hordein) and oats (avenin) were used to raise antibodies in rabbits. The four prolamines were separated by SDS-PAGE and blotted onto nitrocellulose. The immunocrossreactivity of the separated prolamines with the four antisera was studied.

Isolation and analysis of peptidic fragments of alpha-gliadin using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Peptidic fragments of alpha-gliadin were obtained by peptic-tryptic-pancreatic (PTP) digestion of the alpha-gliadin fraction isolated by ion-exchange chromatography on a sulphopropyl-Sephadex C-50 column. The proteolytic digest was fractionated by ultrafiltration into three subfractions, PTPa1-PTPa3. The subfraction PTPa2 was then analysed and individual peaks were separated using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using a gradient of acetonitrile in 0.

Monoclonal antibodies reacting with gliadin as tools for assessing antigenic structure responsible for exacerbation of celiac disease.

Monoclonal antibodies reactive with gliadin were prepared by fusion of spleen cells isolated from gliadin-immunized BALB/c mice with myeloma cells. The reactivity of mAbs with different preparations of gliadin and their enzymatic digest were measured using ELISA method. The mAb produced by GL 1 clone was shown to react preferentially with alpha-gliadin and its enzymatic digest.

Influence of gliadin on fetal chick intestine in tissue culture.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model system for detecting biological effects of gliadin which may be related to coeliac disease. The technique applied was tissue culture of chicken duodenum at several stages of fetal development. A normally occurring increase in disaccharidase activities in cultured tissue explants was diminished by the presence of peptic-tryptic digested gliadin or of a tryptic fragment of alpha-gliadin (alpha-GT 18,000).

Influence of a dorsomedial hypothalamus lesion on the circadian changes in the enzyme development and activity of intestinal brushborder membranes in the rat.

Circadian changes in activities and electrophoretic pattern of the intestinal brushborder enzymes alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.

The specificity of wheat protein reactivity in coeliac disease.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of seven wheat protein fractions on the cell-mediated immune response of coeliac patients and normal individuals, by means of the leukocyte migration inhibition factor (LMIF) assay. Two preparations of milk protein were used as control antigens. Whereas milk protein had no effect on the release of LMIF by cells from either normal or coeliac patients, wheat protein preparations stimulated two types of response.

Alpha gliadin antibody levels: a serological test for coeliac disease.

The diagnostic value in coeliac disease of circulating antibodies to casein, crude gliadin, and alpha gliadin was assessed using an adaption of the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay system. alpha Gliadin was the only antigen which consistently separated 26 patients with untreated coeliac disease from 26 normal controls and 13 patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. The mean assay index for the 26 patients was 3.

Energy intake and the appearance of 5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid in serum lipids during parenteral nutrition without fat.

During parenteral nutrition without fat, biochemical changes in fatty acid composition of serum lipids may occur, such as a decrease in the concentration of linoleic and arachidonic acid and an increase of 5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid. In various reports on essential fatty acid deficiency in parenteral nutrition, the rates and degrees of these changes in fatty acid composition of serum lipids are different. We have tested the hypothesis that a relationship exists between the energy intake and the increase in 5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid in parenteral nutrition without fat.

[Diagnosis in celiac dis].

The work of Dicke, Weyers and Van de Kamer in the fifties caused a breakthrough in the treatment of Coeliac Disease. The pathogenesis of the disease however is still unknown in spite of great research efforts. Research nowadays is mainly directed to chemical analysis of wheat proteins and to immunological aspects of the disease.

Studies on the determination of extracellular galactosyltransferase in human intestinal tissue.

The determination of extracellular galactosyl transferase (EC 2.4.1.

The determination of ammonium in Kjeldahl digests using the gas-sensing ammonia electrode. Comparison of the direct method with the known-addition method.

The efficacy of the ammonia electrode for analysis of the nitrogen content of a large series of Kjeldahl digests was investigated. By using this electrode, two methods for the measurement of ammonium concentrations were compared, the direct method and the known-addition method. When the direct method was used, a marked shift in the electrode potential occurred within a few hours, causing errors of 9-17% in the results.

Lysosomal damage by gliadin and gliadin peptides; an activity not related to coeliac disease.

Rat-liver lysosomes have been used to determine the toxicity of gliadin fractions in relation to coeliac disease. In this study we compared the activity in acid phosphatase release from rat-liver lysosomes by casein, gliadin and by their peptic-tryptic digests. The release of acid phosphatase is not specific for gliadin.

Re-evaluation of the techique of organ culture for studying gluten toxicity in coeliac disease.

In vitro cytotoxicity of four different gluten fractions was tested in organ culture for up to 48 hours using flat intestinal biopsies from children with coeliac disease. The fractions were (1) a peptic-tryptic digest of gliadin containing a moderate amount of alpha-gliadin, (2) a peptic-tryptic digest of gluten (Frazer fraction III) froma strain of wheat with a high content of alpha-gliadin, (3) alpha-gliadin, and (4) alpha-GT-18,000, a tryptic fragment of alpha-gliadin. The latter three fractions were toxic to coeliac patients in vivo.

Wheat grains: a substrate for the determination of gluten antibodies in serum of gluten-sensitive patients.

A simple method of detecting gluten antibodies in serum is described. Cryostat sections of wheat grains proved to be an excellent substrate in the immunofluorescence technique. Rabbit antisera to gliadin and alpha-gliadin, and high percentage of sera from patients with gluten-induced enteropathy had antibodies that reacted with an internal structure of wheat grains.

Transient paraproteinaemia in a patient with coeliac disease.

A case is reported of a 43 year old man who suffered from a grass pollen allergy and a malabsorption syndrome and in whom a paraproteinaemia was found. The grass pollen hypersensitivity was abolished by desensitization. The malabsorption syndrome was found to be due to coeliac disease--that is, a "flat" mucosa of the jejunum with an almost normal ileal mucosa--followed by clinical recovery and morphological improvement on a gluten-free diet.