Small intestinal microbial fiber metabolism dysfunction in celiac disease | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Small intestinal microbial fiber metabolism dysfunction in celiac disease Elena Verdu, Mark Wulczynski, Marco Constante, Heather J. Galipeau, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6572358/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 31 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Celiac disease (CeD) is an immune-mediated condition driven by dietary gluten resulting in small intestinal mucosal inflammation and injury, along with myriads of symptoms. The only treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet (GFD) and although most patients improve, the restriction can lead to nutrient deficiencies including fiber. While duodenal microbiota is altered in CeD, its fiber metabolic capacity is unknown. Here we show that both active and GFD-treated CeD patients had impaired microbial fiber metabolism in the small intestine which associates with depletion of the carbolytic taxa Prevotella spp. Colonization of germ-free mice with Prevotella spp increased small intestinal short chain fatty acids (SCFA). In gluten-sensitized mice expressing the celiac risk gene, HLA-DQ8, an inulin-supplemented diet facilitated microbial carbolytic function, SCFAs production and accelerated mucosal healing in the small intestine during GFD. The results support clinical investigations of dietary fiber supplementation and microbial carbolytic function to enhance responses to GFD in CeD. Health sciences/Gastroenterology/Gastrointestinal diseases/Intestinal diseases/Coeliac disease Health sciences/Gastroenterology/Gastrointestinal models Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Wulczynskietal.CeDFiberSupplementaryfigures.pdf Supplementary Figures Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 31 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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