Biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of celiac disease: can you count on me?

Abstract

Different markers are available to diagnose and monitor celiac disease (CeD); however, the concordance among them and their efficacy are still controversial. We aim at defining the efficacy of CeD biomarkers, their advantages and limits. CeD diagnostic criteria are widely accepted, being a positive serology and duodenal atrophy (according to the Marsh-Oberhuber score) the main hallmarks. Flow cytometry and other molecular biomarkers support the diagnosis of refractory CeD. On the other side, CeD monitoring is less defined, as the biomarkers are not always reliable. To date, the reference standard to detect mucosal healing is represented by duodenal histology, but its timing and significance are debated. Novel scores may better define the trend of mucosal damage and MicroRNAs are among the innovative noninvasive biomarkers. The assessment of a correct gluten-free diet (GFD) is another aspect of CeD monitoring, based upon questionnaires and recently developed tools such as dosage of urinary or faecal gluten immunogenic peptides. Clinicians lack of a widely acknowledged tools to monitor CeD and GFD. Here, we present the efficacy of the most used markers.