Performance of deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies as first screening for celiac disease in the general pediatric population

Abstract

Background: Celiac serology has evolved, with the identification of newer antibodies against deamidated gliadin peptides (DGP) [e.g., anti-DGP, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and immunoglobulin G (IgG) types] with sensitivity and specificity in detecting celiac disease (CeD) that are equivalent to anti-tissue transglutaminase [anti-tissue transglutaminase (TTG) IgA]-based tests, particularly in populations with high pretest probability of CeD (prevalence of CeD > 50% of the population under study). This opens the possibility that anti-DGP assays can be used to identify CeD in the general population where the prevalence of CeD is very low (≈1%).

Objective: This study aimed (1) to determine the diagnostic performance of DGP antibodies-based serologic assays in identifying CeD during the screening of the general population and (2) to compare the levels of anti-DGP antibodies among CeD patients with mild and severe degrees of enteropathy.

Methods: Serology tests for DGP antibodies (DGP-IgA, DGP-IgG, and conjugate TTG/DGP antibodies) were performed on 104 serum samples of positive TTG-IgA (100 confirmed and four potential celiac patients) and a randomly selected 1,000 negative TTG-IgA serum samples collected during mass screening of children (aged 6-15 years) in 2014-2015.

Results: Sera from 32 of the 1,000 TTG-IgA negative serum specimens (3.2%) tested positive for one or more of the three anti-DGP serology tests. A total of 13 of the 32 anti-DGP seropositive patients had persistent positive results on follow-up samples in 2020 (1.3%). Eight of the 13 underwent endoscopy with biopsies, and only two had confirmed CeD (both DGP-IgG positive) (0.2%). The sensitivity and specificity of the serology assays were as follows: DGP-IgA (62.7%, 40%), DGP-IgG (80.4%, 100%), and conjugate TTG/DGP (96%, 10%). Based on receiver operating characteristic curves, the area under the curve for DGP-IgG (0.919; 95% CI -0.00406 to 0.114) was comparable to TTG-IgA (0.974; 95% CI 0.924-0.995) (P = 0.0679). Titers of antibodies to DGPs were significantly higher in children with severe intestinal damage than in those in children with mild lesions (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The TTG-IgA assay remains the most reliable screening serology test for CeD in mass screening studies. The performance of TTG-IgA has improved marginally by adding DGP-IgG to the mass screening protocol. In CeD patients detected by mass screening, the anti-DGP antibody titer was significantly higher among patients with a severe degree of enteropathy as compared to the group with mild enteropathy.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia; celiac disease; deamidated gliadin peptides; mass screening; tissue transglutaminase.