Gluten sensitivity in people without celiac disease may be due to disruptions in the microbiome, the populations of healthy bacteria living in the intestines, a study in mice suggests.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and other cereal grains. In celiac disease, the immune system reacts to gluten as a threat, leading to inflammation and damage to the small intestine and often to digestive symptoms as well.
Up to 15% of the population reports non-celiac gluten sensitivity, with digestive symptoms after consuming gluten but without harm to the gut, according to a report of the study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.
The affected individuals do, however, often have high levels of inflammatory cells, suggesting that gluten may be triggering an immune response.
When mice were treated with commonly used antibiotics that kill beneficial bacteria in the gut and then fed food containing gluten, the animals had shifts in the populations of bacteria living in their intestines that altered how the gluten was processed, which may influence how it is recognized by the immune system, the researchers said.
They also saw more inflammation and a heightened immune response to gluten after the antibiotic treatment.
"This work suggests that the microbiome may determine the capacity for gluten to induce an immune response and offers a valuable insight into the mechanism underlying non-celiac gluten sensitivity," the researchers wrote.
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