Patent ID: 7575871

Claim:
A method for diagnosing coeliac disease in a patient comprising: (a) contacting an antibody sample from said patient with insoluble cross-linked extracellular matrix (ECM) material immobilised on a surface, wherein the ECM material is derived from cells which express a tissue transglutaminase and comprises proteins selected from the group consisting of fibronectin, vitronectin, collagens, latent TGFβ-1 binding protein (LTBP-1), fibrillins, elastin and laminin, wherein said ECM is treated prior to use to remove non-ECM cellular material; and (b) detecting binding of two or more types of antibodies present in the sample to the immobilised ECM material, each type of antibody having affinity for a different protein component of the cross-linked ECM, wherein the binding of antibodies present in the sample to the immobilised ECM material is indicative of a positive diagnosis.