Celiac disease is considered an autoimmune disease, in which the body’s defence system mistakenly targets its own tissues. Although the exact causal mechanism of celiac disease is not yet known, there is a hereditary predisposition to its onset.
Immunologist Helka Kaunisto from the Celiac Disease Research Center at Tampere University studies dermatitis herpetiformis, the skin manifestation of celiac disease.
Kaunisto studies immune cells and the immune response to find out why some people with celiac disease develop dermatitis herpetiformis.
“It should be remembered that the gut and the skin have different layers that function in different immunological ways. Dermatitis herpetiformis is a really good target for studying the extra-intestinal symptoms of celiac disease. This information can then also be used to investigate other autoimmune diseases. For example, how can rheumatism start in one place and then spread elsewhere and become systemic?”
The study involves analysis of sensitive data obtained from patient’s tissue samples. Patients consented to participate in the study. As this is information subject to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the data will be processed and used in CSC’s sensitive data services (SD Desktop and SD Connect).
The sequencing has been done in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, and the data is stored encrypted in SD Connect and analysed with SD Desktop.
Kaunisto did not have previous experience of the high-performance computing or sensitive data services.
“I started using the Sensitive Data Services because I needed more computational power than what was available for me through the university, and I needed a secure environment for this computational power. I find the services very easy to use as the online guides are very thorough. If I have a problem I can’t solve myself the helpdesk is always very helpful.”
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is a non-profit, state-owned company administered by the Ministry of Education and Culture. CSC maintains and develops the state-owned, centralised IT infrastructure.
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ELIXIR
builds infrastructure in support of the biological sector. It brings together the leading organisations of 21 European countries and the EMBL European Molecular Biology Laboratory to form a common infrastructure for biological information. CSC – IT Center for Science is the Finnish centre within this infrastructure.
ELIXIR is partly funded by the European Commission