1 Central Institute for Nutrition and Food Research T.N.O., Utrecht
Celiac disease is considered "an inborn error of metabolism," which becomes mainly manifest after the consumption of wheat (rye, barley, oats). Wheat gluten, especially its gliadin fraction, is shown to be the harmful substance.
The cause of the action of gliadin is sought for in the glutamine-containing peptides, which, due to an enzymatic defect in the cells of the intestinal wall, would not be split normally into amino acids but would get into the blood, thus exerting an abnormal influence on the metabolism.
The abnormal elevation of the gliadinloading curves is probably based on the presence of these peptides in the blood.