Gluten-specific T cell

Gluten-specific T cells, primarily CD4+ helper T cells, are the central mediators of the inflammatory response in Celiac disease (Sollid et al., 2012). These cells recognize specific deamidated gluten peptides presented by HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 molecules on antigen-presenting cells in the small intestine (Christophersen et al., 2019). Upon activation, effector T cells (Teff) secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines like interferon-gamma and interleukin-21, which lead to villous atrophy and malabsorption (Daveson et al., 2020). Regulatory T cells (Tregs) within this population are intended to maintain immune tolerance but are often dysfunctional or insufficient in patients with active disease. Therapeutic strategies, such as antigen-specific immunotherapies (ASIT), aim to reprogram these populations by inducing anergy, deleting effector cells, or expanding the gluten-specific Treg pool (Kelly et al., 2021). Drugs like TAK-101 and KAN-101 are currently in development to achieve this tolerance, representing a shift from dietary management to targeted biological modification of the immune response.

Other names

Gluten-specific effector and regulatory T cell populationsGluten-reactive CD4+ T cellsGliadin-specific T cellsGluten-specific TeffGluten-specific Treg

Antigen-specific immune tolerance induction via effector T-cell anergy/deletion and regulatory T-cell expansion.