[Celiac disease (celiac sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy)].

In spite of the remarkable progress made in the last years, the perspectives in coeliac disease is still an enigma that has maintained this clinical entity a subject open to investigation. However, particular attention is deserved to the recent contributions related to the role of the histocompatibility antigens (HLA system), which is basically controlled by inherited transmission but can behave, in certain cases as gluten-sensitive "receptors" at the level of brush-border membrane. The coupling of these receptors with antigenic fractions of gluten in a sensitive person should be a starting point for a sequence of immunological events, with its several intestinal and general implications.