Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune gastroenteropathy triggered by gliadin and gliadin-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) complexes. CD is one of the few autoimmune diseases with an accurate, non-invasive serological test. Anti-endomysial, anti-tTG and anti-deaminated gliadin peptides (DGP) antibodies are currently used for serological tests with tTG ELISAs being the superior test. Duodenal biopsy, although invasive, is the gold standard for CD diagnosis. HLA genotyping and flow cytometry can also be used as supplementary tests.

The incidence of CD is rising globally although the reasons for this remain unclear. In addition, the true incidence of coeliac disease in African populations remains unknown although recent work suggests that South African populations express the alleles associated with this disease.

This review examines the pathogenesis and diagnosis of coeliac disease and considers novel and innovative biomarkers in its diagnosis specifically in an African population.

乳糜泻 (CD) 是由麦醇溶蛋白和麦醇溶蛋白-组织转谷氨酰胺酶 (tTG) 复合物引发的自身免疫性胃肠病。CD 是少数具有准确、非侵入性血清学检测的自身免疫性疾病之一。抗肌内膜、抗 tTG 和抗脱氨基麦醇溶蛋白肽 (DGP) 抗体目前用于血清学测试，其中 tTG ELISA 是优越的测试。十二指肠活检虽然是侵入性的，但却是诊断 CD 的金标准。HLA 基因分型和流式细胞仪也可用作补充测试。

CD 的发病率在全球范围内呈上升趋势，但原因尚不清楚。此外，尽管最近的研究表明南非人群表达了与这种疾病相关的等位基因，但非洲人群中乳糜泻的真实发病率仍然未知。

这篇综述检查了乳糜泻的发病机制和诊断，并特别在非洲人群的诊断中考虑了新的和创新的生物标志物。