In a previous post, April Health News Headlines, we shared a headline about a recent study into a possible cause of gluten sensitivity , also known as celiac disease. As we mentioned then, a new study by the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center has found that an otherwise harmless virus could trigger a person’s immune system to overreact to gluten, leading to celiac disease and intolerance.

While more research is necessary, in this study, researchers infected mice with reoviruses, a harmless type of virus that normally does not make people sick. The infected mice developed a super-charged immune system response when fed gluten, causing them to experience more of the inflammation specific to celiac disease, which occurs when the immune system recognizes gluten as harmful. This causes the immune system to attack a person’s small intestine, limiting their ability to absorb important nutrients.

Celiac Disease is Uncommon

Commonly found in wheat or other grains, gluten is not harmful to the great majority of people. In fact, an estimated 40% of humans have the genes that predispose them to celiac disease but, while 95% of people eat gluten, only 1% end up developing the disorder gluten intolerance or Celiac disease.

The study, published April 7, 2017 in Science, further implicates viruses in the development of autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease and type 1 diabetes, and raises the possibility that vaccines could one day be used to prevent these diseases.

“This study clearly shows that a virus that is not clinically symptomatic can still do bad things to the immune system and set the stage for an autoimmune disorder, and for celiac disease in particular,” said study senior author Bana Jabri, MD, PhD. “However, the specific virus and its genes, the interaction between the microbe and the host, and the health status of the host are all going to matter as well.”

This is the type of information that is critical to helping us understand why so few people with the disease-causing genes end up developing the gluten sensitivity and Celiac disease, while others do not.