Duodenal Bacteria From Patients With Celiac Disease and Healthy Subjects Distinctly Affect Gluten Breakdown and Immunogenicity

Background & Aims Partially degraded gluten peptides from cereals trigger celiac disease (CD), an autoimmune enteropathy occurring in genetically susceptible persons. Susceptibility genes are necessary but not sufficient to induce CD, and additional environmental factors related to unfavorable alterations in the microbiota have been proposed. We investigated gluten metabolism by opportunistic pathogens and commensal duodenal bacteria and characterized the capacity of the produced peptides to activate gluten-specific T-cells from CD patients. Methods We colonized germ-free C57BL/6 mice with bacteria isolated from the small intestine of CD patients or healthy controls, selected for their in v…