Wheat-Related Intestinal Diseases: From Molecular Basis to Potential Therapy
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2025 | Viewed by 144
Special Issue Editors
Interests: mucosal immunology, particularly in inflammatory diseases related to gluten ingestion (celiac disease and non-celiac wheat sensitivity); the characterization of gluten immunotoxic peptides; enzymatic strategies for gluten digestion and detoxification; the immunogenic potential of cereals other than wheat; the study of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways in celiac disease, and in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo study models for the characterization of Celiac disease (CeD) immune response
Interests: mucosal immunology, particularly in intestinal inflammatory diseases as celiac disease, non-celiac wheat sensitivity and inflammatory bowel diseases; ex vivo organ culture of human intestinal biopsies and in vivo murine experimental models applied to the study of: immunopathogenetic mechanisms of the main inflammatory intestinal diseases, the effects of different molecules as gluten or bioactive compounds on intestinal immune response, immunological results of enzymatic strategies for the detoxification of gluten, the immunostimulatory potential of alternative cereals for the diet of celiac patients and effects of potentially therapeutic molecules
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Wheat consumption is associated with intolerance diseases, which affect a significant part of the general population, with a broad spectrum of symptoms. The best characterized gluten-related syndrome is celiac disease (CeD), an intestinal disorder positioned between food hypersensitivity and autoimmunity. Alongside CeD, non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS) is emerging as a very common condition, in which individuals experience symptoms similar to CeD, with the absence of specific clinical signs.
CeD pathogenesis has been deeply investigated and the link between food triggers (gluten from wheat, rye, and barley), genetic predisposing factors (HLA-DQ2/DQ8), the developement of intestinal inflammation (mediated by gluten-reactive lamina propria Th1 cells), and the appearance of autoimmunity traits (anti-tissue transglutaminase IgG/IgA) is now well defined. Nevertheless, several questions are still open and alternative therapies are needed.
The other side, the characterization of the molecular basis of NCWS has only just begun; in addition to gluten, amylase trypsin inhibitors and fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and, polyols (FODMAPs) are thought to play a role. Importantly, no specific diagnostic biomarkers have been identified yet. The purpose of this Special Issue is to contribute to the scientific knowledge on this subject, including not only articles concerning new players and molecular pathways in CeD and NCWS pathogenesis (e.g., microbiota, metabolism, additional environmental factors, and specific cell subpopulations), but also the experimental models that allow them to be studied, advances in the frontiers of gluten digestion and detoxification, and the state of the art of the identification of biomarkers for early diagnosis and for patient follow-ups. Finally, special attention will be given to the development of non-dietary treatments aiming to overcome the limitations of a lifelong gluten-free diet.
Dr. Alessandra Camarca
Dr. Vera Rotondi-Aufiero
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- CeD pathogenesis
- NCWS molecular basis
- therapies alternative to GFD
- gluten digestion strategies
- gluten detoxification strategies
- experimental models
- new tools and/or biomarkers for diagnosis and follow-up
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