6 Celiac Disease, Glyphosate and Renal Disease
A meta-analysis published in 2016 revealed a significant increased risk (Risk Ratio = 2.57) to end-stage renal disease in patients with CD [28]. This increased risk is likely due in part to the effects that tTG has on renal fibrosis.
Multiple animal studies have demonstrated a role for tTG in increasing fibrosis, by rendering the extracellular matrix resistant to degradation through the formation of cross-links. tTG has a clear fibrogenic role, not only in renal fibrosis, but also in lung, liver, and heart fibrosis.
It is proposed here for the first time that glyphosate substitution for glycine in tTG causes pathogenic overactivation and release of external tTG into the interstitial spaces, promoting fibrosis in multiple organs in the body.
There is an unusual form of kidney disease called chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu), characterized by severe fibrosis in the renal tubules, which has become an epidemic among young sugar cane agricultural workers in Central America. The cane is routinely sprayed with glyphosate just before harvest, and published research has proposed that glyphosate is a major factor in the disease [22, 29].
It is plausible that glyphosate’s disruption of tTG could account for the increased fibrosis. Swanson et al. found a stunningly strong correlation between glyphosate usage on core crops and time trends in death from end stage renal disease in the United States [30]. The correlation coefficient between the two time trends from 1997 to 2009 was 0.96 (p <= 4.2e−6).
7 Celiac Disease, Glyphosate and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
In 1986, O’Farrelly et al. coined the term “enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma”
(EATL), to characterize a rare form of high-grade, T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) of the upper small intestine, specifically associated with CD [31]. Since then, it has become widely known that CD is linked to an increased risk to multiple cancers, with NHL being the most strongly linked. Celiac predicts a lowered life expectancy, mainly because of the increased cancer risk [32]. Strict adherence to a gluten-free diet can decrease risk to developing cancer.
In March, 2015, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a “class 2 probable carcinogen.” Subsequently, there were three well publicized California lawsuits where glyphosate was claimed to be causal in NHL, and in all cases a jury trial resulted in a large monetary award (totally over $2 billion).
These awards were later reduced by a judge to more modest amounts, and final outcomes await a possible appeal process. There are now tens of thousands of cases pending, linking glyphosate to NHL, and this has had a dramatic effect on Bayer’s stock value, as Bayer had acquired Monsanto in 2016. A meta-analysis paper published in 2019 found a 1.45-fold increased risk to NHL in association with glyphosate exposure.
The authors further showed that glyphosate can cause immunosuppression, endocrine disruption, and genetic alterations that are commonly associated with NHL [33]. Patients suffering from NHL, like CD patients, have elevated levels of autoantibodies against tTG, even when they don’t have overt symptoms of Celiac such as villous atrophy [34].