Assay of gliadin by real-time immunopolymerase chain reaction

Patients with coeliac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy) are intolerant against gliadins from wheat and the respective proteins from related cereals and have to keep a lifelong gluten-free diet. For control of gliadin in gluten-free food sensitive assay techniques are necessary. We developed an immunopolymerase chain reaction (iPCR) assay for gliadin. In this technique immunological detection of gliadin by a monoclonal antibody R5 conjugated with an oligonucleotide is amplified by PCR. For quantification, iPCR was performed as real-time PCR (real-time iPCR) in one step. By means of real-time iPCR, the sensitivity of gliadin analysis was increased more than 30-fold above the level reached by enzyme immunoassay. Real time-iPCR using R5 directly conjugated with oligonucleotide was clearly more sensitive than real time-iPCR applying sequentially biotinylated R5, streptavidin, and biotinylated oligonucleotide. With directly conjugated R5 gliadin was detected at a concentration as low as 0.16 ng/mL corresponding to 16 mug gliadin/100 g food or 0.16 ppm (corresponding to 0.25 g of food extracted in 10 mL of solvent and 25-fold dilution of the extract prior to analysis). This is the first report applying the highly sensitive technique of iPCR for gliadin analysis. Furthermore, this is the first approach to perform real-time iPCR in one step without changing the reaction vessels after enzyme immunoassay for subsequent PCR analysis thus minimizing risks of contamination and loss of sensitivity.