Celiac disease genetics: past, present and future challenges.

In the past few years there has been enormous progress in unraveling the genetic basis of celiac disease (CD). Apart from the well-known association to HLA, there are currently 40 genomic loci associated to CD. Most of these loci show pleiotropic effects across many autoimmune diseases and highlight the importance of a dysregulated immune system in the predisposition to CD. It is still too early, however, to use genetics in clinical practice for predicting individual risk. The major challenge for the future is to translate genetic findings into a better understanding of the underlying disease mechanism and to design new ways to treat CD and prevent its development.