Study Identifies Blood Proteins Tied to Celiac Disease Activity and Gut Damage
Researchers analyzed blood and tissue samples from people with celiac disease before and after a year on a gluten-free diet, along with samples from people without the condition. They found 24 proteins associated with celiac disease, including nine that were especially linked to the extent of intestinal damage. The findings suggest these blood proteins could help track disease activity when standard tests give unclear results.
Celiac disease occurs when the immune system reacts to gluten, causing gut inflammation that can harm the intestine and nutrient uptake. Diagnosis often combines antibody blood testing with gastroscopy and small-intestine biopsies. After diagnosis, patients usually avoid gluten and are monitored in primary care, but antibody tests may be less informative once treatment begins.
The study used 264 blood and tissue samples from celiac patients before and after a year gluten-free, plus non-celiac samples, collected at Rikshospitalet from 2018 to 2024. Proteomics revealed 24 disease-associated proteins; nine tracked intestinal damage extent. Untreated patients had highest inflammatory protein levels, healthy controls lowest, while treated patients remained slightly above healthy controls.
For people with celiac disease, added protein markers could eventually offer clearer monitoring when antibody results are ambiguous, potentially reducing uncertainty about ongoing gut inflammation. Clinicians may gain another tool to assess dietary adherence or healing, though validation and access questions remain. This may especially matter for patients who follow gluten-free diets yet still have unclear test results.