The coexistence of cystic fibrosis and celiac disease.

Two patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who subsequently developed celiac disease (CD) 
are described. Since organ culture of intestinal mucosa has been used 
to establish an in vitro model for the study of CD, 
we utilized this opportunity to determine whether duodenal mucosa obtained from 
each of these two patients and their immediate families differed in 
its organ culture behavior from mucosa obtained from patients with CD 
alone. Additionally, as specific HL-A types are associated with CD, we 
used HL-A typing to determine whether the two patients with CF-CD 
differed genetically from patients with CD alone. One of our patients 
was HL-A8, the most common type associated with CD; the other 
was HL-A12, as are many of the non-HL-A8 celiac patients. The 
response in organ culture of the mucosa of these two patients 
was the same as the response in organ culture of the 
mucosa from patients with CD alone. These and other data suggest 
that CD occurring in patients with CF is no different than 
CD occurring alone. 