Can Quinoa prolamins stimulate gluten specific T-cells?

Abstract

Background: Coeliac disease (CD) is a multifactorial condition that affects mainly the small intestine mucosa of genetically-predisposed individuals. It is caused by a T-cell-mediated immune response to the prolamin fractions of wheat, rye, barley and oats in some cases. The only effective treatment is to permanently follow a strict glutenfree diet (GFD) which can be restrictive and deficient in some nutrients. Quinoa is an Andean crop that could add variety and improve the nutritional quality of the GFD. However, there is little information about the safety of quinoa for CD patients and potentially, quinoa prolamins could cause an immune reaction in coeliac patients. Methods: Therefore, we established gluten sensitive T-cell lines using intestinal biopsies from coeliac patients which were exposed to peptic/tryptic digested prolamin fractions, extracted from wheat and four quinoa cultivars. Cell stimulation was measured by proliferation of T-cells using 3H-thymidine incorporation. Results: Our results indicated that all T-cell lines demonstrated inmmunoreactivity to protein fractions from wheat flour, which was higher when the proteins were pre-treated with tissue transglutaminase (tTG). However, protein fractions from quinoa showed no reactivity despite of tTG treatment. Conclusion: To conclude, this study suggests that quinoa prolamins do not produce similar T-cell antigenic reactivity to wheat. Therefore, quinoa could be a safe alternative for coeliac patients, although more studies are needed.