Celiac.com 11/04/2016 - Patients in the earliest stages of celiac disease have TG2-autoantibodies present in serum and small-intestinal mucosa. Many suffer abdominal symptoms long before the development of villus atrophy.
The classic small-bowel mucosal damage that marks celiac disease develops over time and in stages; from normal villi to inflammation and finally to villus atrophy with crypt hyperplasia. Previously, researchers have shown that intraperitoneal injections of sera from celiac patients or of purified immunoglobulin fraction into mice trigger a condition mimics early-stage celiac disease.
Those same researchers recently set out to show whether re-combinantly produced, patient-derived TG2-targeted autoantibodies are alone sufficient to trigger such condition in immune...

Celiac.com 07/05/2021 - One of the many approaches to alternative treatments for celiac disease includes the inhibition of various bio-chemical or bio-mechanical factors that promote mucous damage in the guts of untreated celiacs. One focus has been on inhibiting small intestinal transglutaminase 2. In celiac disease, small intestinal transglutaminase 2 causes deamidation of glutamine residues in gluten peptides, which increases T cell stimulation and triggers mucosal damage. Inhibition of transglutaminase 2 is a potential treatment for celiac disease.
A team of researchers recently set out to determine whether ZED1227, a selective oral transglutaminase 2 inhibitor, can successfully inhibit transglutaminase 2, and reduce duodenal mucosal damage, as a potential treatment for celiac...

Celiac.com 07/01/2024 - Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects the small intestine, triggered by the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Despite the prevalence of this condition, affecting up to 2% of the population, the only current treatment is a lifelong strict gluten-free diet. This diet can be challenging to maintain and does not completely eliminate the risk of intestinal damage from hidden gluten. In recent studies, traditional diagnostic tests have shown limitations in detecting ongoing molecular damage within seemingly healthy intestinal tissue. Researchers have thus been exploring new therapeutic avenues, one of which is the transglutaminase 2 inhibitor ZED1227, which has shown promise in preventing gluten-induced damage in previous clinical...

Celiac.com 09/09/2024 - Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder affecting about one percent of the global population. Those with celiac disease must adhere to a strict gluten-free diet, as there is currently no other treatment option available. A recent study by researchers at Stanford University and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource at the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has provided new insights into the key enzyme transglutaminase 2 (TG2), which plays a significant role in the disease's pathology.
The Function of Transglutaminase 2
Transglutaminase 2 is a multifunctional enzyme involved in various physiological and pathological conditions, including celiac disease. The enzyme requires calcium to perform its primary chemical...