Int J Mol Sci. 2023 May 2;24(9):8153. doi: 10.3390/ijms24098153.

Yasmina Rodríguez-Sillke ^1 2, Michael Schumann ¹, Donata Lissner ¹, Federica Branchi ¹, Fabian Proft ¹, Ulrich Steinhoff ³, Britta Siegmund ¹, Rainer Glauben ¹

Author information

¹Department of Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, 13125 Berlin, Germany.

²Institute of Nutrition, University of Potsdam, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany.

³Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Philipps University of Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany.

Abstract

To demonstrate and analyze the specific T-cell response following barrier disruption and antigen translocation, circulating food antigen-specific effector T-cells isolated from peripheral blood were analyzed in patients suffering from celiac disease (CeD) as well as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We applied the antigen-reactive T-cell enrichment (ARTE) technique allowing for phenotypical and functional flow cytometric analyses of rare nutritional antigen-specific T-cells, including the celiac disease-causing gliadin (gluten). For CeD, patient groups, including treatment-refractory cases, differ significantly from healthy controls. Even symptom-free patients on a gluten-free diet were distinguishable from healthy controls, without being previously challenged with gluten. Moreover, frequency and phenotype of nutritional antigen-specific T-cells of IBD patients directly correlated to the presence of small intestinal inflammation. Specifically, the frequency of antigen specific T-cells as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines was increased in patients with active CeD or Crohn's disease, respectively. These results suggest active small intestinal inflammation as key for the development of a peripheral food antigen-specific T-cell response in Crohn's disease and celiac disease.