Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and celiac disease are both characterized by an autoimmune feature. As T1D and celiac disease share several common risk factors such as environment, genetics and immune dysregulation, patients have risk of developing the other disease subsequently. Patients with manifest T1D may have had a latent celiac disease, which is activated parallel to the anti-islet immune reactivity during the development of T1D. Contrary, a low prevalence of β-cell autoimmunity is found in young patients with celiac disease.

The role of antigen-specific T cells and their relation to cytokines and chemokines is not well characterized in children with combination of T1D and celiac disease. Defective regulation and an impaired ability of responder T cells to be suppressed are suggested to contribute. We have previously shown that children suffering from these two immunological diseases in combination have a suppressed immune response to several antigens for example food antigens like gluten. Low percentages of both early and late effector memory CD8⁺ cells together with observations of immune aberrancies seen in the gut, in children who are prone to T1D, may suggests poor development of oral tolerance that may predispose for development of celiac disease.    

This review highlights the immunological complexity in these two common pediatric immunological disorders that indicates that the combination of type 1 diabetes and celiac disease is an immunological challenge. It is obvious that we are far from understanding the immunological impact of these two autoimmune diseases in combination. This immunological challenge therefore needs to be elucidated to be able to predict and prevent these autoimmune diseases.