Coeliac disease (CD) is a multifactorial disease of the small intestine. In genetically predisposed individuals the, ingestion of cereals leads to a remodulation of the mucosal architecture, and the production of autoantibodies against tissue transglutaminase (tTG). The treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet.

The diagnostic procedure relies on the examination of a small-bowel biopsy that displays villous atrophy. A spectrum of clinical manifestations is associated with CD, ranging from overt enteropathy to atypical and silent symptoms. Approximately 1% of the general population has CD, and the majority is undiagnosed. Although most patients with active CD can be detected by the assessment of elevated IgA-tTG, some patients lack these antibodies. Moreover, individuals with IgA-deficiency cannot be identified by means of IgA serology.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the clinical utility of IgG-tTG for the detection and follow-up of subjects with active CD. The included studies showed that IgG-tTG was highly prevalent in IgA-deficient and IgA-competent patients with CD, whereas non-CD patients rarely had these antibodies. During a gluten-free diet, IgG-tTG decreased, demonstrating that IgG-tTG can be used to follow the patient’s adherence such a diet. Furthermore, 10% of healthy IgA deficient blood donors had elevated IgG-tTG, indicating that they had silent CD.

In IgA-competent subjects, high IgG-tTG levels correlated with a severe mode of CD and profound mucosal deterioration, suggesting that IgG-tTG might be involved in the disease progression. Moreover, we found that although a considerable percentage of IgA-competent patients lack IgG-tTG, the presence of these antibodies in conjunction with high levels of IgA-tTG was highly predictive of a severe small-intestine villous atrophy. It was also demonstrated that IgG-tTG normalisation coincided with clinical remission in IgA-competent CD patients on a gluten-free diet.