Complement studies in children with treated coeliac disease after gluten challenge

Changes of the complement components in the sera of 13 children with treated coeliac disease were studied after gluten challenge. The levels of C 1 and C 3-activator (factor B) were significantly decreased at 4 h after the challenge, as were the levels of total complement (CH 50) and the components C 1, C 4 and C 1-inactivator at 8 h. After 24 h most values returned to normal but there was another significant decrease in serum C 4 after 24 h, and for CH 50, C 1, C 2 and C 4 after 48 h.This study was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Az. Op 12/11)