Regulation of tissue transglutaminase in Celiac Disease, Ng, Zui Keat
Celiac Disease (CD) is a medical condition characterized by mal-absorption, weight loss and increased energy expenditure, and the exacerbation of the disease is usually caused by foods that contain gluten (Capristo et. al., 2005). Gluten is a peptide that has glutamine residues in its chemical structure, and glutamine residues contain amide group in which transglutaminase (tTG) deamidates. Patients who have CD usually have high levels of tissue (tTG), and they are sensitive to gluten due to the deamidating activity of tTG. The specific aim of this study is to regulate tTG activity using RNAi. After the treatment of RNAi, the level of tTG will be measured using a technique called Western blot. A decreased level of activity of tTG in patients with CD is expected. Finally, several biochemical values related to Celiac Disease will be measured to assess the effect of the RNAi treatment to reduce tTG activity.
