Alterations in one-carbon metabolism in celiac disease

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy associated with alterations of metabolism. Metabolomics studies, although limited, showed changes in choline, choline-derived lipids, and methionine concentrations, which could be ascribed to alterations in one-carbon metabolism. To date, no targeted metabolomics analysis investigating differences in the plasma choline/methionine metabolome of CD subjects are reported. This work is a targeted metabolomic study that analyzes 37 metabolites of the one-carbon metabolism in 17 children with CD, treated with a gluten-free diet and 17 healthy control siblings, in order to establish the potential defects in this metabolic network. Our results demonstrate the persistence of defects in the transsulfuration pathway of CD subjects, despite dietary treatment, while choline metabolism, methionine cycle, and folate cycle seem to be reversed and preserved to healthy levels. These findings describe for the first time, a metabolic defect in one-carbon metabolism which could have profound implications in the physiopathology and treatment of CD.

This research was funded by the Regional Government of Andalusia, Excellence Research Project No P12-AGR-2581, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, RTI2018-099200-BI00), and the Generalitat of Catalonia: Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (2017SGR696), and Department of Health (SLT002/16/00250) to RP. This study was co-financed by FEDER funds from the European Union (“A way to build Europe”). IRBLleida is a CERCA Programme/Generalitat of Catalonia. It was also partially funded with the grant “Investigation grant program by the SPAO” 2020 edition