Celiac Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Celiac Disease, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, causes, diet.

Tryptophan metabolism and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase expression in coeliac disease.

Torres MI, López-Casado MA, Lorite P, Ríos A

Department of Experimental Biology, University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain. mitorres@ujaen.es

We have investigated the possible role of the metabolism of tryptophan and activity of the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) in the immune regulation of coeliac disease (CD). Serum concentrations of tryptophan and its metabolites kinurenines were determined by high performance liquid chromatography in 24 patients with CD, seven patients with Crohn's disease and five healthy patients. We detected an increase of kynurenine (4.2 micromol/l +/- 0.27 versus 2.6 micromol/l +/- 0.54, P < 0002) and of the kynurenine/tryptophan ratio in supernatants of coeliac patients (11.5 micromol/l +/- 1.01 versus 6.5 micromol/l +/- 1.57, P < 0005) in comparison with healthy patients, respectively, and we found no differences with Crohn's disease patients. Immunohistochemistry analysis of intestinal biopsies from CD patients showed an increased expression of IDO, interferon-gamma, interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-beta. Our data suggest that a mechanism(s) dependent on tryptophan catabolism might regulate the immune responses in CD.

Published 11 May 2007 in Clin Exp Immunol, 148(3): 419-24.
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