Chugai's DONQ52 Shows Promise in Non-Clinical Research for Celiac Disease Treatment

Welcome to Celiac.com!

You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.
Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
Get Celiac.com Updates:

Support Our Content

eNewsletter

Donate
By Jefferson Adams

March 4
By Jefferson Adams • March 4

Chugai's DONQ52 Shows Promise in Non-Clinical Research for Celiac Disease Treatment

Followers 5
Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

Chugai Pharmaceutical publishes non-clinical research results on DONQ52 for celiac disease.

Caption:
Army scientists. by U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Celiac.com 03/04/2024 - Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has announced significant strides in the development of a potential treatment for celiac disease with their novel multi-specific antibody, DONQ52. The company recently announced that the non-clinical research results on DONQ52 have been published in Nature Communications, a prestigious multidisciplinary scientific journal. This milestone represents a significant step forward in the quest to find effective therapies for celiac disease, a condition currently without approved treatment options.

DONQ52, discovered by Chugai, has shown promise in selectively inhibiting the immune response to gluten, a key component in the pathology of celiac disease. Through advanced antibody engineering technologies, DONQ52 was designed to target and neutralize multiple gluten peptides in complex with HLA-DQ2.5, a genetic marker strongly associated with celiac disease.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
The research findings published in Nature Communications outline the potential of DONQ52 to effectively inhibit gluten-dependent T-cell activation, a crucial step in the immune response cascade that leads to intestinal damage in celiac disease. Notably, DONQ52 demonstrated broad and selective recognition of over 25 distinct pathogenic gluten peptides, indicating its versatility and potential as a therapeutic agent.

The Goal is to Develop a Therapy that can Provide Relief to Individuals Living with Celiac Disease

Dr. Osamu Okuda, President and CEO of Chugai, expressed optimism about the future of DONQ52 in celiac disease treatment. He highlighted the ongoing Phase I clinical study, which aims to assess the safety and efficacy of DONQ52 in patients with celiac disease. The ultimate goal is to develop a therapy that can provide relief to individuals living with celiac disease, addressing an unmet medical need in the field.

“We are very pleased to announce that that the results of basic research on a multi-specific antibody DONQ52 discovered by our company have been published in Nature Communications. Although technical hurdles have prevented practical use to date, our non-clinical study shows that specific and broad inhibition of HLA-T cell interactions is a useful therapeutical approach for celiac disease,” said Dr. Okuda.

As the Phase I study progresses, Chugai remains committed to advancing the development of DONQ52 and leveraging their expertise in antibody engineering to explore new possibilities in celiac disease therapy. With continued research and innovation, DONQ52 has the potential to offer hope and improved quality of life for those affected by celiac disease.

Stay tune for more on this and related stories.

Read more at chugai-pharm.co.jp
celiac disease

chugai

donq52

research

treatment
Grlybrainiac and Russ H

2
Share
Followers 5
Go to articles
User Feedback
- 5 Comments
Recommended Comments

Russ H 164

Posted March 4

Share this comment

The paper is currently freely available:

Characterizations of a neutralizing antibody broadly reactive to multiple gluten peptide:HLA-DQ2.5 complexes in the context of celiac disease

Grlybrainiac

1

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Oldturdle 31

Posted March 8

Share this comment

What are "multiple gluten peptides?" I thought gluten was gluten, one distinct molecule.

Link to comment

Share on other sites

RMJ 498

Posted March 8

Share this comment

4 hours ago, Oldturdle said:

What are "multiple gluten peptides?" I thought gluten was gluten, one distinct molecule.

Proteins and peptides are made of amino acids, the difference is the total size. Gluten is a large protein molecule. It is partially digested into smaller pieces, which are then called peptides. One of the reasons that gluten causes trouble for those of us with celiac disease is that our body can’t digest it all the way down to the amino acids.

Oldturdle and knitty kitty

1

1

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Oldturdle 31

Posted March 10

Share this comment

Helpfull! Thank you. I am asuming "normal" people can digest gluten all the way down to the amino acids. That is probably what Gliadenx does.

Link to comment

Share on other sites

RMJ 498

Posted March 10

Share this comment

39 minutes ago, Oldturdle said:

Helpfull! Thank you. I am asuming "normal" people can digest gluten all the way down to the amino acids. That is probably what Gliadenx does.

Actually, even normal people don’t digest gluten all the way down to amino acids. I wasn’t clear. But normal people don’t have trouble with the gliadin peptides.

Oldturdle

1

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now
Get Celiac.com Updates:

Support Celiac.com:

Join eNewsletter

Donate
About Me

Jefferson Adams is Celiac.com's senior writer and Digital Content Director. He earned his B.A. and M.F.A. at Arizona State University. His articles, essays, poems, stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and websites, including North American Project, Antioch Review, Caliban, Mississippi Review, Slate, and more. He is the author of more than 2,500 articles on celiac disease. His university coursework includes studies in science, scientific methodology, biology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, logic, and advanced research. He previously devised health and medical content for Colgate, Dove, Pfizer, Sharecare, Walgreens, and more. Jefferson has spoken about celiac disease to the media, including an appearance on the KQED radio show Forum, and is the editor of numerous books, including "Cereal Killers" by Scott Adams and Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

>VIEW ALL ARTICLES BY JEFFERSON ADAMS
Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):

Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):
Related Articles
What is the Treatment for Celiac Disease?
Celiac.com 06/26/2020 - The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet.
No Cure for Celiac Disease
No prescription drug or home remedy can cure celiac disease. There is no operation or medical procedure that can cure celiac disease.
Gluten-Free Diet Key to Celiac Wellness
However, people with celiac disease can live happy, healthy, normal lives by eliminating wheat rye and/or barley, and following a dedicated gluten-free diet.
Avoid Unsafe Non-Gluten-Free Foods
This means avoiding all products derived from wheat, rye, barley, oats, and a few other lesser-known grains. These foods and ingredients are unsafe and not-gluten-free. Here's our Unsafe Gluten-Free Food List (Unsafe Ingredients).
Eat Safe Gluten-Free Foods
Eat only f...

Read Full Article...

0 comments

11,379 views
Celiac Disease Treatment and Continuing Symptoms
Celiac.com 04/07/2021 - It is not uncommon for people with celiac disease to have ongoing digestive symptoms and other systemic problems, even on a gluten free diet. Even though celiac disease is becoming better understood each year, much remains to be learned about the effects of the disease on the body and its ongoing symptoms.
Not everyone with celiac disease who goes on a gluten-free diet will recover, according to the following study:
"After an average of 11 months on a gluten-free diet, 81% of patients with celiac disease and positive tissue transglutaminase IgA (tTG-IgA) at baseline will revert to negative tTG-IgA (SOR: C, disease-oriented evidence from retrospective cohort study). The intestinal mucosa of adult patients with celiac disease will return to normal a...

Read Full Article...

50 comments

89,278 views
The Appeal of Vaccine Treatments for Celiac Disease
Celiac.com 12/21/2020 - Recent leaps in understanding the development of celiac disease have led efforts toward a new, non-dietary, vaccine therapy.
A lifelong gluten-free diet remains the only treatment for celiac disease, but research shows that even the most diligent gluten-free dieters are likely to be exposed to gluten on a regular basis. This is part of the appeal of safe, effective non-dietary treatments for celiac disease. And adjunctive and/or vaccine therapy is one of those approaches.
New therapies might focus on immune regulation by IL-10, as in vitro models of treated celiac patients show that external IL-10 can overwhelm the gliadin driven IFN-γ response in intestinal biopsies. But, even though people with active celiac disease show high levels of anti-infl...

Read Full Article...

4 comments

10,626 views
New Developments in Celiac Disease Treatment
Celiac.com 12/13/2023 - Celiac disease is a common autoimmune disease affecting more than 1% of the population. In celiac disease, the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, triggers an immune response targeting the small bowel. In susceptible individuals, this immune reaction leads to both gastrointestinal and systemic symptoms.
Unlike some other autoimmune diseases, the specific immunogenic antigens responsible for the immune response in celiac disease have been identified and extensively characterized. Consequently, a gluten-free diet has long been established as an effective treatment. This is not an easy task, partly due to a lack of awareness of the gluten content in foods, and the extensive incorporation of gluten into many processed foods. Furthermore, ...

Read Full Article...

3 comments

6,685 views
Recent Activity
1. 1 hour ago - Scott Adams replied to Patrick-Tyler's topic in Gluten-Free Restaurants
  5
  
  Is McDonald's Safe for Gluten-Free Orders?
  
  Hydrolyzed wheat is wheat protein that has been broken down into smaller components through a chemical or enzymatic process called hydrolysis. This ingredient can be found in various products, including cosmetics, personal care items, and some food products. For people with celiac disease, hydrolyzed wheat is generally not safe to consume because it...
2. 1 hour ago - trents replied to Patrick-Tyler's topic in Gluten-Free Restaurants
  5
  Is McDonald's Safe for Gluten-Free Orders?
  
  Here is an excerpt from this article: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC82695: Studies have shown that various peptidases of fungal, plant, animal, or bacterial origin are able to hydrolyze gluten into harmless peptides. According to SDS‐PAGE pattern, proteolytic enzymes hydrolyze gliadins (Heredia‐Sandoval et al., 2016; Scherf et al., 2...
  
  1
3. 1 hour ago - Scott Adams replied to GeordieGeezer's topic in Food Intolerance & Leaky Gut
  17
  
  Anybody else have a similar experience...theories welcome as its something which i dont really understand.....
  
  There aren't good studies that have been done on celiac disease remission, and I'm going from a distant memory of an older post here, but the longest remission that Dr. Stefano Guandalini from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center has witnessed was ~10 years, then the symptoms of celiac disease and the damage came back. The real issue though, is...
4. 1 hour ago - trents replied to Patrick-Tyler's topic in Gluten-Free Restaurants
  5
  
  Is McDonald's Safe for Gluten-Free Orders?
  
  Scott, could you elaborate on hydrolyzed wheat? Does that remove or deactivate the gluten protein?
5. 1 hour ago - Scott Adams replied to Patrick-Tyler's topic in Gluten-Free Restaurants
  5
  
  Is McDonald's Safe for Gluten-Free Orders?
  
  McDonald's has a gluten-free bun, are you in Europe? They don't have that in the USA but I hope they are coming here soon. In the USA the fries are not considered gluten-free, even if they are made in a dedicated fryer, but many celiacs, including myself, have been eating them for years without issues. In Europe they don't have the same hydrolyzed wheat...