NEW INSIGHTS INTO FATTY ACID BINDING PROTEINS' (FABPs) EXPRESSION IN CELIAC DISEASE

BOTTASSO, NATALIA; GARCIA MARINA; BONDAR CONSTANZA; CÓRSICO B; CHIRDO FERNANDO

Aberdeen

Congreso; International Conference on the Bioscience of Lipids (ICBL) 2014; 2014

ICBL

C eliac disease (C D) is an autoimmune-mediated enteropathy that develops in genetically susceptible individuals following exposure to dietary gluten. Severe changes at the intestinal mucosa observed in untreated C D patients are linked to changes in the level and in the pattern of expression of different genes. Fully differentiated epithelial cells express two isoforms of fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs): IFABP and LFABP. These proteins belong to a family which binds and transports long chain fatty acids, but also have important roles in signalling pathways, particularly those related to PPAR and inflammatory processes. The aim of this work is to characterise the expression of both FABPs in C D patients in duodenum tissue sections as well as in serum samples. Immunofluorescence analysis showed a differential pattern and level of expression in severe enteropathy cases compared to healthy mucosa. Remarkably, some mononuclear cells in the lamina propria were also stained for I- and LFABP and their cellular lineage is analyzed. Iand LFABP mRNA levels are altered in duodenal samples from C D patients compared to controls. Serum levels of IFABP are higher in C D patients compared to controls. In conclusion, though higher levels of IFABP in serum samples from C D patients are probably due to the enterocyte damage, the changes observed in FABPs expression in the intestinal mucosa suggest a more complex process and may be linked to or be a consequence of the inflammatory process occurring in severe enteropathy and deserve further evaluation.