New strategies for the study of celiac disease genetics

Celiac Disease (CD) is a chronic enterophaty affecting the small intestine and triggered by gluten proteins contained in wheat, barley and rye. It is characterized by an autoimmune response in genetically susceptible individuals, and only the 40% of the genetics is explained by HLA predisposition. Recently, several susceptibility loci not HLA related have been identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAs). Our aim is to extract as many information as we can from the large amount of data emerged from these studies. The critic analysis of the large panorama of CD candidate genes leads to consider several mechanisms of action that may have gone unnoticed if we persist in considering all the genes together. Whereas, analyzing a small set of genes from different points of view it is possible to really understand why this more than the other gene resulted to be associated with the disease. GWAs made the history of complex diseases, but represent only the starting point from which postulate hypothesis, mechanisms of action, interactions, in order to untangle the skein represented by the complex pathogenesis of celiac disease.