Has DARPA created a magic gluten-free pill?

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency may have inadvertently put the hurt on celiac disease.

By

Melissa Breyer

Tue, Jan 15 2013 at 1:05 PM

Related Topics:

Healthy Eating, Research & Innovation, Viruses & Diseases

Photo: Lasse Kristensen/Shutterstock

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), was created in 1958 to “prevent strategic surprise from negatively impacting U.S. national security and create strategic surprise for U.S. adversaries by maintaining the technological superiority of the U.S. military.” Read: They develop things like the Internet, stealth bombers and reusable unmanned spacecrafts. And now, they may have come up with a surprising antidote for sufferers of celiac disease.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the protein gluten in wheat, rye or barley damages the lining of the small intestine and creates inflammation. Enzymes in the stomach break down gluten into smaller pieces, known as peptides — but for sufferers of celiac disease, the peptides trigger an autoimmune response with painful symptoms. Currently, the only way to avoid the response is to steer clear of food that contain gluten.

So why would the research arm of the Pentagon, an agency that busies itself with high-tech wizardry, be concerned with who can or can’t eat pizza?

It’s all about the anthrax. Between 2005 and 2009, DARPA began looking into computerized methods to find medical defenses against chemical and biological warfare threats like Sarin nerve gas and anthrax, according to NPR. They use these computerized models to develop better enzymes, more quickly.

But they went a step beyond when they realized that if an enzyme could further break down the offending peptides in the stomach, it could lead to celiac patients being able to eat gluten-containing foods.

With the help of researchers Ingrid Swanson Pultz from the University of Washington in Seattle and Justin Siegel of the University of California at Davis, they found a naturally occurring enzyme that has some of the ideal properties for breaking down the peptides. The scientists modified the enzyme in the lab so that it would meet all of the required criteria. Using conditions created to mimic the stomach, the new enzyme, with the conveniently market-ready name of KumaMax, broke down almost all of the culprits implicated in celiac disease.

“These combined properties make the engineered [enzyme] a promising candidate as an oral therapeutic for celiac disease,” say the researchers. An oral therapeutic would serve those with celiac disease in much the same way that lactose pills help those with lactose intolerance.

And now Siegel and Pultz have created a company, Proteus Biologics, to make KumaMax available to the public — but that won't happen until more clinical testing shows the protein to be efficacious enough to actually be useful. And it could still take years to prove it's safe.

The research was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

MNN tease photo of bread wrapped in caution tape: Shutterstock

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Comments: 8

tamara_minneapolis Jan 18 2013 at 12:14 PM

It's not the gluten, it's the wheat. Even wheat flour that is deglutenized is bad for you and leads to inflammation and the glucose rollercoaster. Pills don't solve all ills.

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culturalclutter Jan 17 2013 at 10:15 AM

There have been, for some time now, non-prescription DPP-IV gluten digestion assisters in pill form for when Celiacs or those who are just gluten sensitive accidentally ingest foods containing gluten. Agree with J that it's just best to avoid the glut of foods now containing gluten. However, moderation has its place. When my child began outgrowing her gluten and lactose sensitivities - as her gut matured and healed - her entire life and outlook improved. No longer forced to obsess over non-stop diet/

.... More

bathroom maintenance and soiling, she could be a carefree kid again. We always baked and cooked from scratch with organics, fruits, veggies and gluten-free grains (and still do), while buying the occasional off the shelf cereal or cookie with gluten. A kid who can't eat cake at a birthday party or pizza at a sleepover (or enjoy a family vacation) is stressed and feels different. The enzyme assisters were the last step in our multi-approach years long progression of her digestive system/gut healing. Suffering from 24/7 gluten sensitivity most of her young life forced my daughter to preternaturally read labels and gain an awareness of industrial food production - the silver lining.

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J Jan 16 2013 at 7:16 PM

I think they are crazy. I would never want to eat gluten again. It's poison not just to us celiac's but to everyone.

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Niso Merithon Jan 18 2013 at 4:31 PM

Poison? What facts (from a journal, not 'What The Gubmint Doesn't Want You to Know") support this?

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hshld6 Jan 16 2013 at 10:19 AM

Great for sufferers. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, those that avoid gluten containing foods often reap the benefits of also avoiding the often high-carb content as well. In a time when the country is battling obesity, we're creating another "out" to all overconsumption. Just a thought...