Abstract
Since celiac disease screening by traditional IgA anti-endomysial antibody test is limited by high costs of monkey esophagus commercial kits as well as by rising ethical problems related to the endangered species, the identification of an inexpensive and commonly available substrate for this antibody determination is urgently required. To achieve this goal, we compared the prevalence of IgA anti-endomysial antibodies detected on monkey esophagus with that on human umbilical cord. Fifty-seven (95%) of 60 untreated adult celiacs were positive for these antibodies on monkey esophagus as well as on human umbilical cord. IgA anti-endomysial antibodies, detected on both tissues, were negative in all 200 disease and healthy controls tested, displaying a 100% specificity for gluten-sensitive enteropathy. These data suggest that human umbilical cord can replace monkey esophagus for IgA anti-endomysial antibodies test. Human umbilical cord allows unlimited testing for celiac disease screening on wide series of high-risk subjects, permitting identification of greater numbers of asymptomatic celiac patients with a remarkable saving of money and bypassing the ethical problems related to killing monkeys.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chorzelski TP, Beutner EH, Sulej J, Tchorzewska H, Jablonska S, Kumar V, Kapucinska A: IgA anti-endomysium antibody. A new immunological marker of dermatitis herpetiformis and coeliac disease. Br J Dermatol 111:395–402, 1984
Maki M, Holm K, Lipsanen V, Hallstrom O, Viander M Collin P, Savilahti E, Koskimies S: Serological markers and HLA genes among healthy first-degree relatives of patients with coeliac disease. Lancet 338:1350–1353, 1991
Volta U, Molinaro N, Fusconi M, Cassani F, Bianchi FB: IgA anti-endomysial antibody test: A step forward in celiac disease screening. Dig Dis Sci 36:752–756, 1991
Volta U, Lenzi M, Lazzari R, Cassani F, Collina A, Bianchi FB, Pisi E: Antibodies to gliadin detected by immunofluorescence and a micro-ELISA method: Markers of active childhood and adult coeliac disease. Gut 26:667–671, 1985
Karpati S, Burgin-Wolff A, Krieg T, Meurer M, Stolz W, Braun-Falco O: Binding to human jejunum of serum IgA antibody from children with coeliac disease. Lancet 336:1335–1338, 1990
Hallstrom O: Comparison of IgA-class reticulin and endomysium antibodies in coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. Gut 30:1225–1232, 1989
Ferreira M, Lloyd Davies S, Butler M, Scott D, Clark M, Kumar P: Endomysial antibody: Is it the best screening test for coeliac disease? Gut 33:1633–1637, 1992
Unsworth DJ, Walker-Smith JA, Holborow EJ: Gliadin and reticulin antibodies in childhood coeliac disease. Lancet 1:874–875, 1983
Burgin-Wolff A, Gaze H, Hadziselimovic, F, Huber H, Lentze MJ, Nusslè D, Reymond-Berthet C: Antigliadin and antiendomysium antibody determination for coeliac disease. Arch Dis Child 66:941–947, 1991
Carroccio A, Iacono G, Montalto G, Cavataio F, Soresi M, Kazmierska I, Notarbartolo A: Immunologic and absorptive tests in celiac disease: Can they replace intestinal biopsies? Scand J Gastroenterol 28:673–676, 1993
Maki M, Holm K, Collin P, Savilahti E: Increase in γ/δ T cell receptor bearing lymphocytes in normal small bowel mucosa in latent coeliac disease. Gut 32:1412–1414, 1991
Ladinser B, Rossipal E, Pittscheier K: Endomysium antibodies in coeliac disease: An improved method. Gut 35:776–778, 1994
Roy-Choudhury DC, Cooke WT, Tan DT, Banwell JG, Smits BJ: Jejunal biopsy: Criteria and significance. Scand J Gastroenterol 1:57–74, 1966
Corrao G, Corazza GR, Andreani ML, Torchio P, Valentini RA, Galatola G, Quaglino D, Gasbarrini G, Di Orio F: Serological screening of coeliac disease: Choosing the optimal procedure according to various prevalence values. Gut 35:771–775, 1994
Volta U, Lazzari R, Sategna-Guidetti C, Tenue Club Group: Multicenter study on the reproducibility of antigliadin (AGA) and antiendomysial antibodies (EmA) in celiac sprue screening. J Clin Gastroenterol 19:81–82, 1994
Corazza GR, Valentini RA, Frisoni M, Volta U, Corrao G, Bianchi FB, Gasbarrini G: Gliadin immune reactivity is associated with overt and latent enteropathy in relatives of celiac patients study. Gastroenterology 103:1517–1522, 1992
Savilahti E, Simell O, Koskimies S, Rilva A, Akerblom HK: Celiac disease in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Pediatr 108:690–693, 1986
Valentini RA, Andreani ML, Corazza GR, Gasbarrini G: IgA endomysium antibody: A valuable tool in the screening of coeliac disease but not its follow-up. Ital J Gastroenterol 26:279–282, 1994
Depla ACTM, Bartelsman JFWM, Mulder CJJ, Tytgat GNJ: Anemia: Monosymptomatic coeliac disease. Hepatogastroenterology 37:90–91, 1990
Gobbi G, Bouquet F, Greco L, Lambertini A, Tassinari CA, Ventura A, Zaniboni MG: Coeliac disease, epilepsy, and cerebral calcifications. Lancet 340:439–443, 1992
Ferguson R, Basu MK, Asquith P, Cooke WT: Jejunal mucosal abnormalities in patients with recurrent aphthous ulceration. Br Med J 1:11–13, 1975
Aine L, Maki M, Collin P, Keyrilainen O: Dental enamel defects in celiac disease. J Oral Pathol Med 19:241–245, 1990
Holmes GKT, Prior P, Lane MR, Pope D, Allan RN: Malignancy in coeliac disease—effect of a gluten-free diet. Gut 30:333–338, 1989
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Volta, U., Molinaro, N., De Franceschi, L. et al. IgA anti-endomysial antibodies on human umbilical cord tissue for celiac disease screening. Digest Dis Sci 40, 1902–1905 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208653
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208653