Cellular infiltrate of the jejunum after re introduction of dietary gluten in children with treated coeliac disease

Abstract

Jejunal lamina propria plasma cells and eosinophils and intraepithelial lymphocytes were raised in celiac children on gluten containing diets, but only intraepithelial lymphocytes were increased in patients on gluten free diets. In contrast, lamina propria lymphocytes were reduced in children with celiac disease on gluten containing diets but were normal in patients on gluten free diets. In children with celiac disease who were studied serially, lamina propria plasma cells and eosinophils and intraepithelial lymphocytes increased, and lamina propria lymphocytes decreased, within 3 mths of the reintroduction of gluten to the diet. These observations are essentially similar to those made in the adult form of the disease and suggest that more than one type of immunologic reaction is involved in the pathogenesis of the jejunal lesion.