Celiac disease is a chronic disease in which the body reacts to the presence of gluten in the intestine and damages the villi of this organ. Although the Celiac Disease has no cure recently it is thought that could be disabled and not require a gluten-free diet forever.
The celiac disease switch
It is known that the immunological reaction that occurs in the presence of gluten in the intestine is mediated by an enzyme called transglutaminase 2 or TG2 modifies food proteins. Although this enzyme is also present in the intestine of healthy people, it is inactive and therefore does not trigger the adverse reaction that characterizes celiac people.
The key then was to know what activates and what deactivates this enzyme that may be the responsible for celiac disease. A study by researchers at Stanford University appears to have found the answer.
TG2 is activated when a disulfide bond that it possesses is broken and when it is recreated it can be inactivated. It has recently been known that the endoplasmic reticulum protein 57 or ERp57 is capable of deactivating this enzyme that generates celiac disease and therefore it is believed that the switch that would allow celiacs not to follow a gluten-free diet forever.
Since previous studies in rodents have shown that TG2 deactivation does not cause side effects, it is believed that using ERp57 as part of different medicines could be the key to disabling celiac disease in the not too distant future and thus, those who until now depended on a gluten-free diet to control the disease, will not continue in the same situation.
This article was originally published by Gabriela Gottau in March 2018 and has been reviewed for republication.
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