title: Avenins from different cultivars of oats elicit response by coeliac peripheral lymphocytes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The avoidance of oats in coeliac patients is still controversial. If oats is confirmed to be safe, it would be a valuable component and offer more variation in a gluten-free diet. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether avenins from different varieties of oats show different abilities in the activation of coeliac peripheral lymphocytes.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to assess whether the immunogenic effect of oats varies according to the cultivar, peripheral lymphocytes from 10 coeliac children were exposed to avenins from four different oats varieties: Lampton, Astra, Ava and Nave. Lymphocyte proliferation and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) release in the culture medium were measured as indexes of immune activation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the varieties of oats tested were immunogenic, with Lampton and Ava avenins inducing lymphocyte activation similar to that activated by wheat gliadin, while Astra and Nave avenins showed less immunogenicity, but still with a measurable effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are still concerns about the suitability of including oats in a gluten-free diet. Coeliac patients consuming oats-containing food should be carefully monitored, until there is more evidence to show the safety of oats and varieties of low-toxicity oats.
authors.affiliation: Division of Food Science, Human Nutrition and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. marco.silano@iss.it
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silano
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Benedetto
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maialetti
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Vincenzi
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calcaterra
authors.forename: Hugh J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cornell
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Vincenzi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018554:Avena / Q000276:immunology; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D055315:Prolamins
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D055315:Prolamins; D007371:Interferon-gamma