Immunofluorescent Studies in Adult Celiac Disease*

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Abstract
To investi-gate the possible role of immunologic processes in adult celiac disease, duodenal and/or jejunal biopsies from 9 patients with adult celiac disease and from 5 controls are studied by immunofluorescent techniques. Immunoglobulins are demonstrated in mononuclear cells in the lamina propria of all tissue sections. Gamma la -globulin is the major immunoglobulin present, but gammaj-and gamma lm-globulins are also identified. These immunoglobulins did not react with gliadin. No in vivo or specific in vitro fixation of the beta lc- globulin component of complement is observed in these tissues; thus complement-fixing immune complexes could not be identified. The beta lc-globulin is fixed in vitro in, all specimens at the superficial margin of the epithelial cell and in the goblet cells. This nonspecific complement fixation may be secondary to a nonspecific in vitro fixation of immunoglobulin, especially gamma lm, which is fixed in the same areas. Auto-antibodies reactive against autologous intestine could not be demonstrated. The cytoplasm of the intestinal epithelium from celiac patients bound gliadin, but not casein, bovine serum albumin, or oval-bumin. Only one of the 5 control patients bound gliadin minimally. The nature and significance of the binding is not known.