Reference Number: 5
Year: 2006
Link: Link to original paper
Nutrition: Gluten>albumins & globulin | Gluten>gliadin
Intolerance & Sensitivity: Coeliac | Non coeliac gluten sensitivity
Summary
Introduction
Little is known about the interaction of gliadin with intestinal epithelial cells and the mechanism(s) through which gliadin crosses the intestinal epithelial barrier. We investigated whether gliadin has any immediate effect on zonulin release and signaling.
Results
When exposed to gliadin, zonulin receptor-positive IEC6 and Caco2 cells released zonulin in the cell medium with subsequent zonulin binding to the cell surface, rearrangement of the cell cytoskeleton, loss of occludin-ZO1 protein-protein interaction, and increased monolayer permeability. Pretreatment with the zonulin antagonist FZI/0 blocked these changes without affecting zonulin release. When exposed to luminal gliadin, intestinal biopsies from celiac patients in remission expressed a sustained luminal zonulin release and increase in intestinal permeability that was blocked by FZI/0 pretreatment. Conversely, biopsies from non-celiac patients demonstrated a limited, transient zonulin release which was paralleled by an increase in intestinal permeability that never reached the level of permeability seen in celiac disease (CD) tissues. Chronic gliadin exposure caused down-regulation of both ZO-1 and occludin gene expression.
Significance of the study to the baker
Zonulin is a protein that modulates the permeability of tight junction between cells of the wall of the digestive tract. It was discovered in 2000 by Alessio Fasano and his team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Alessio Fasano found that Gliadin (glycoprotein present in wheat) activates zonulin signaling irrespective of the genetic expression of autoimmunity, leading to increased intestinal permeability to macromolecules which then triggers the onset of inflammation and discomfort as seen in gluten/wheat related disorders. In the current paper, the authors found that Zonulin was markedly up-regulated in subjects affected by CD, even when treated with a gluten-free diet. This up-regulation was associated with increased baseline gut permeability, and an increased duration of gluten- induced zonulin release when compared with non- CD intestinal samples. The mechanism in which zonulin acts as the mediator of these gluten-induced changes could possibly pave the way for treatment alternatives to a gluten-free diet.