Association between gliadin content and celiac disease antigenicity using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies in Indian wheat cultivars

Objectives: Wheat despite being an important staple food across the world has been linked to celiac disease in genetically susceptible individuals predominantly caused by gliadins. In this investigation, varietal differences with respect to celiac antigenicity and their relationship with gliadin content were identified. Methods: In this study, we analyzed 62 Indian wheat varieties released over six decades (1961–2020) for gliadin content using BSA and gliadin as calibration standards, and assessed their antigenicity using celiac disease-specific polyclonal antibody (pAb). Results: In addition, a set of 25 wheat varieties was scanned using monoclonal antibody (mAb) raised against gliadin. Large variations in gliadin content (2.75 to 6.98 g 100-1 g whole wheat flour) were observed with the lowest in PBW 34 and the highest in HS 420. Comparative analysis revealed that gliadin content measured using the standard gliadin calibrant was 1.5 times higher than using BSA as calibrant. A positive correlation was observed between total antigenic gliadin and total gliadin content using pAb (r2 = 0.5841; r = 0.763**) and mAb (r2 = 0.4923; r = 0.728**) indicating that total gliadin content is the major factor for eliciting celiac antigenicity. Conclusion: The study also exhibited that celiac causing potential of wheat is not different among the varieties developed across different periods. The findings contribute to our understanding of the relationship between gliadin content and antigenicity, and thus have potential implications in management of celiac disease.