Immunopathology of childhood celiac disease—Key role of intestinal epithelial cells

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the small intestine mucosa due to permanent intolerance to dietary gluten. The aim was to elucidate the role of small intestinal epithelial cells in the immunopathology of celiac disease in particular the influence of celiac disease-associated bacteria. METHODS: Duodenal biopsies were collected from children with active celiac disease, treated celiac disease, and clinical controls. Intestinal epithelial cells were purified and analyzed for gene expression changes at the mRNA and protein levels. Two in vitro models for human intestinal epithelium, small intestinal enteroids and polarized tight monolayers, were utilized to assess how interferon-γ, interleukin-17A, celiac disease-associated bacteria and gluten influence intestinal epithelial cells. RESULTS: More than 25 defense-related genes, including IRF1, SPINK4, ITLN1, OAS2, CIITA, HLA-DMB, HLA-DOB, PSMB9, TAP1, BTN3A1, and CX3CL1, were significantly upregulated in intestinal epithelial cells at active celiac disease. Of these genes, 70% were upregulated by interferon-γ via the IRF1 pathway. Most interestingly, IRF1 was also upregulated by celiac disease-associated bacteria. The NLRP6/8 inflammasome yielding CASP1 and biologically active interleukin-18, which induces interferon-γ in intraepithelial lymphocytes, was expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. CONCLUSION: A key factor in the epithelial reaction in celiac disease appears to be over-expression of IRF1 that could be inherent and/or due to presence of undesirable microbes that act directly on IRF1. Dual activation of IRF1 and IRF1-regulated genes, both directly and via the interleukin-18 dependent inflammasome would drastically enhance the inflammatory response and lead to the pathological situation seen in active celiac disease.