Causes of Celiac Disease
Main function of small intestine is digestion as well as absorption of the digested food material. In some people intestine is not able to absorb the selective digested food material and it is called as malabsorption. Celiac disease means malabsorption. Research is going on to find out exact cause of the celiac disease. Following are some reasons of causing celiac disease.
Loss of villi in small intestine
Villi
- Intestine is the largest organ in the body. From inside, small intestine shows many undulations or folds called as villi. This arrangement is very important as it provides more area to absorb the digested food material.
- Surface of the villi is again covered by the small hair like projections called as microvilli.
- Microvillus provides more area to absorb the digested food material like digested proteins, vitamins, fats and carbohydrate.
- In celiac affected patient, intestine does not show villi i.e. villi are absent. As given above villi performs crucial role in absorbing digested food material, so patient suffering from celiac disease does not show absorption of the some digested proteins.
Loss of villi
- In diet gluten protein is present. Gluten causes some type of allergic reaction in the cells of the villi and it causes damage to the cells of the villi.
- Damaging of villi leads to failure of the intestine; food made from wheat, rye, barley, oats and millets can damage the villi.
- Gluten is made up of the gliadin glycoprotein. Gliadin shows immunological reaction with villi. Still it is unknown why gliadin becomes toxic and cause damage to the cells of villi.
- For absorption of the proteins, it should be broken in to small amino acids which are permeable or can absorb by the villi.
- For breaking or digestion of the proteins or other food component enzymes are secreted by the intestine.
- In celiac disease, enzyme is not able to cut or digest the proteins into the amino acids. Three to four amino acids chains somehow enters inside the cell causing damage to villi.
- Short chains of the amino acids causes' damage to the cell leading to loss of capacity of the intestine for absorption of proteins.
- Any longer chain of the amino acids can combine with the enzyme called transglutaminase. This combination of long chain of amino acids and tramsglutaminase causes immunological reaction. This reaction can damage the cell.
- In this disease person is not able to absorb food material containing gliadin and similar proteins. Food products prepared from rice and corn can be absorbed in the small intestine because it does not contain gliadin protein.
Hereditary
- In animals, genetic characters or qualities are transfer from one generation to the next through the genes. It is studied that celiac disease can transfer to next generation.
- There are about 10% of chances of transferring the disease to next generation. Disease can transfer to both the twins; there is about 30% possibility of causing disease in non identical twins and 70% chances in identical twins.
Other reasons
- Very rarely celiac disease can caused after sugary or operation
- During pregnancy many changes occurred in the body, it can cause celiac disease
- During birth of baby
- Infection of the virus to the intestine
- High emotional stress
