Impacts of Sourdough Technology on the Availability of Celiac Peptides from Wheat α- and γ-Gliadins: In Silico Approach

Abstract

Celiac peptide-generating α- and γ-gliadins consist of a disordered N-terminal domain extended by an α-helical-folded C-terminal domain. Celiac peptides, primarily located along the disordered part of α- and γ-gliadin molecules, are nicely exposed and directly accessible to proteolytic enzymes occurring in the gastric (pepsin) and intestinal (trypsin, chymotrypsin) fluids. More than half of the potential celiac peptides identified so far in gliadins exhibit cleavage sites for pepsin. However, celiac peptides proteolytically truncated by one or two amino acid residues could apparently retain some activity toward HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 receptors in docking experiments. Together with the uncleaved peptides, these still active partially degraded CD peptides account for the incapacity of the digestion process to inactivate CD peptides from gluten proteins. In contrast, sourdough fermentation processes involve other proteolytic enzymes susceptible to the deep degradation of celiac peptides. In particular, sourdough supplemented by fungal prolyl endoproteases enhances the degrading capacities of the sourdough fermentation process toward celiac peptides. Nevertheless, since tiny amounts of celiac peptides sufficient to trigger deleterious effects on CD people can persist in sourdough-treated bread and food products, it is advisable to avoid consumption of sourdough-treated food products for people suffering from celiac disease. As an alternative, applying the supplemented sourdough process to genetically modified low gluten or celiac-safe wheat lines should result in food products that are safer for susceptible and CD people.