Celiac disease-specific and inflammatory bowel disease-related antibodies in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

The etiology of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) remains unknown. RAS can be presented as primary, idiopathic condition and as a secondary RAS, which is associated with a systemic disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate the presence and concentrations of antibodies specific for celiac disease (CeD) and antibodies related to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in patients with RAS without gastrointestinal symptoms. Antibodies against tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG), deaminated gliadin peptides (DGP), deaminated gliadin-analogous fragments (anti-GAF-3X) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) were determined by ELISA and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) by indirect immunoflurescence (IIF) in 57 patients with RAS and 60 control subjects. The prevalence of CeD specific antibodies did not differ between RAS patients and controls. However, the concentrations of IgA anti-tTG, IgA anti-GAF-3X antibodies in patients with RAS were significantly higher compared to controls (p = 0.002 and p = 0.04 respectively). Histological changes consistent with CeD were confirmed by duodenal biopsy in one RAS patient with highly positive IgA anti-tTG, anti-GAF-3X and anti-DGP antibodies. Higher prevalence along with higher concentrations of IgG ASCA were found in RAS patients compared to controls (p < 0.01). Patients with positive IgG ASCA in the absence of clinical symptoms decided not to pursue any further testing. Dysfunction of oral mucosa and the exposure to various antigens might be a reason for the loss of tolerance resulting in increased production of autoantibodies. It seems likely that antibodies are markers of aberrant immune response, rather than key effectors involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.