Schistosomiasis, one of the most devastating parasitic diseases, is caused by Schistosoma japonicum (Sj) infection resulting in serious liver fibrosis. Interleukin- (IL-) 13, which is produced by TH2  cells, is a critical profibrotic cytokine found in various organs, including the liver. Tissue transglutaminase (tTG), a group of multifunctional enzymes, serves a central function in the pathogen...

BACKGROUND Duodenal biopsy is required for diagnosis of celiac disease in adults, although some studies have suggested adequate accuracy of serology alone. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess the correlation between anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) titer and pathological findings and to define the specific level of tTG for predicting celiac disease in adults without the need for biopsy sampling. M...

The association between pediatric celiac disease (CD) and atherosclerosis is unknown. Our aim was to investigate whether pediatric CD patients have an increased risk of atherosclerosis. We evaluated the premature atherosclerosis by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). A total of 37 CD patients (20 girls, mean age 13±3.3 years) and 36 healthy age and sex matched c...

Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the yield of screening for celiac disease in children with failure to thrive and with or without chronic diarrhea. Methods: In this prospective study, 144 children aged 1-14 years and weighed below the fifth percentile with or without chronic diarrhea were studied during six months in 2010. Sample collection was done in the private offic...

BACKGROUND Immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies to tissue transglutaminase (tTG) are the serologic test of choice for diagnosing celiac disease (CD). Our aim was to determine if elevated IgA anti-tTG were associated with increased mortality risk. METHODS Stored serum samples of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (1988-1992) were available for 6032 individuals aged 50 y...

One of several postulated roles for tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is the stabilization and assembly of extracellular matrix via peptide cross-linking. We previously determined that tTG activity increased in an animal model of hepatic fibrogenesis and in human liver disease. To further study the role of tTG in liver disease, we initiated investigations into the effect of a proinflammatory mediat...

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of tissue transglutaminase (tTG) in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) and the intervention effect of rutin. DCM was induced in rats by the injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 25 mg/kg). After a preliminary examination, the rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control (n=8), STZ-induced DCM (n=8), STZ + positive drug (captop...

AIMS To investigate celiac disease (CD) and related co-morbidity in patients with familial and sporadic cardiomyopathy and in their relatives. METHODS AND RESULTS We screened anti-human-tissue-transglutaminase (IgA and IgG anti-h-tTG) and anti-endomysial antibodies (AEAs) in 238 consecutive adult patients with inherited or sporadic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), 418 relatives, and 2000 healthy...

In Parkinson's disease (PD), conformational changes in the alpha-synuclein monomer precede the formation of Lewy bodies. We examined postmortem PD and undiseased (control) substantia nigra for evidence of pathological crosslinking of alpha-synuclein by tissue transglutaminase (tTG) using immunohistochemistry, immunoprecipitation, and Western blot. Consistent with previous reports, we found that...

The prevalence of celiac disease (CD) among Japanese population has been unknown, whereas it has been increasingly recognized in the US and in the European countries. The aim of the present study is to identify possible cases with CD among Japanese population and clarify the relevance of screening for the disease. We conducted a serologic screening for the disease among 710 Japanese patients an...