Dietary Exposure to Purified Gliadins and Avenins: Effects on Intestinal and Immune Responses in BALB/c Mice

Authors

Stastna, M., Norek, A., Makovicky, P., Jeklova, E., Strakova, P., Hrunka, M., Jabandziev, P., Janda, L.

Abstract

Dietary cereal prolamins differ in composition and gastrointestinal processing, but their shared and protein-source-specific effects on intestinal homeostasis remain incompletely defined. BALB/c mice were fed for five weeks with diets in which 70% of total protein was supplied by vital wheat gluten, purified gliadin, or purified avenin, alongside casein-fed controls. Intestinal morphology, antigen-specific plasma immunoglobulin G and A (IgG, IgA), mucosal gene expression, and small-intestinal proteomics were analysed. No overt histopathological injury or generalised inflammatory response was detected in any group. Gliadin and avenin both increased ileal villus length; avenin additionally elicited the broadest and most frequent prolamin-specific IgG response, associated with reduced intestinal interleukin-10 expression in responding animals. Proteomic profiling revealed a shared structural-metabolic signature alongside protein-specific changes in lipid handling, junctional regulation, and epithelial immune signalling. These findings indicate that wheat- and oat-derived prolamins differentially influence intestinal homeostasis and antigen recognition even at matched dietary doses, informing their evaluation as functional food ingredients.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 16 Oct 2026.

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