RT Journal Article
T1 Immunomodulatory effects of a short-term gluten-free diet on pediatric celiac disease: findings from a single-cell transcriptomics study.
A1 Martin‐Masot, Rafael
A1 Correa-López, Nerea
A1 Herrador-López, Marta
A1 Navas-López, Víctor Manuel
A1 Carmona, Francisco David
A1 Nestares, Teresa
A1 Bossini-Castillo, Lara
K1 Enfermedad celíaca en niños
K1 Secuenciación de ácidos nucleicos
K1 Respuesta inmune - Regulación
K1 Células T
K1 Pediatría
K1 Dietas sin gluten
AB Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder with a strong genetic component, triggered by gluten ingestion. Although a Gluten-Free Diet (GFD) is the standard treatment, its short-term effects on immune cell modulation in pediatric CD remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to investigate transcriptional changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of pediatric CD patients following a strict GFD for 9–10 months, using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). An observational longitudinal study was conducted on five pediatric CD patients pre-GFD and post-GFD (confirmed by gluten immunogenic peptide determination in feces). PBMCs were analyzed using droplet-based scRNA-seq to identify cluster markers and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between pre-GFD and post-GFD cells. Nineteen immune cell clusters encompassing a variety of classical immune cell subtypes were identified. Key findings included the downregulation of pro-inflammatory genes and the upregulation of immune-regulatory genes after a GFD in different immune cell subsets. Changes in macrophages and monocytes suggested improved immune balance, while T cells demonstrated a shift towards reduced effector activity. Notably, post-GFD regulatory T cells transitioned into a trajectory towards enhanced immunosuppressive profiles, as evidenced by increased HLA-G and decreased DDX5 expression. A strict short-term GFD induced significant immune modulation in pediatric CD patients, highlighting potential biomarkers for disease monitoring. Nevertheless, due to the small sample size, results should be interpreted with caution, and larger cohort studies are needed for further confirmation and validation. These findings provide insights into the immunological mechanisms of GFD and suggest avenues for non-invasive diagnostic strategies to enhance patient management.
PB Elsevier
YR 2025
FD 2025-08-11
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39733
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/39733
LA eng
NO Martín-Masot R, Correa-López N, Herrador-López M, Navas-López VM, Carmona FD, Nestares T, Bossini-Castillo L. Immunomodulatory effects of a short-term gluten-free diet on pediatric celiac disease: findings from a single-cell transcriptomics study. J Nutr Biochem. 2025 Aug 11:110063. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2025.110063
NO This work was supported by the Andalusian Government through the research projects of ‘Financiación de la Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Biomédica y en Ciencias de la Salud en Andalucía’ (ref. PI-0070-2024) and ‘Proyectos de investigación Aplicada del Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Granada 2023’ (ref. C-CTS-301-UGR23). This work has been partially funded by the research grant “Ayuda a la investigación” from the SPAO 2023 edition and the Beca de investigación Vicente Varea scholarship from the Sociedad Española de Gastroenterología, Hepatología y Nutrición Pediátrica (SEGHNP) 2023 edition.
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 19 ene 2026