T Cell-Mediated Immunity to Gliadin Is Elicited in the Gut Mucosa of Type 1 Diabetes Patients Only in Presence of Celiac Disease Comorbidity.

It has been hypothesized that dietary proteins act as environmental factors in type 1 diabetes pathogenesis. This study investigated whether gliadin-specific T cells are present in the small intestine of children with type 1 diabetes, without or with celiac disease comorbidity. No sign of gliadin-reactive T cells, either proinflammatory or regulatory, was observed in the gut mucosa of children with type 1 diabetes negative for celiac disease autoimmunity. Interferon-γ-producing T cells were detected in gut mucosa biopsy specimens of children with diabetes seropositive for antitissue transglutaminase antibodies. Our study does not support a pathogenic role of intestinal T cell-mediated immunity to gluten in type 1 diabetes pathogenesis.