T here is evidence that diabetes is characterized by taurine deficiency (1–4), which has been linked to diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy (5–7). Taurine is involved in neuronal modulation, osmoregulation (8), and protection against oxidative stress (9). Its plasma levels are maintained within a normal range through protein intake, and de novo synthesis is limited by the activity...

Previous reports have dealt with the hypoglycemic properties of taurine and its effects on insulin secretion by adult and fetal isolated islets. We have studied the presence and cellular distribution of taurine in rat islets, the conditions to evoke its release, and its possible modulatory action on insulin secretion. We localized taurine by techniques of double immunolabeling in most glucagon-...

A variety of experimental studies demonstrated that neurotransmitters are an important factor for the development of the central nervous system, affecting neurodevelopmental events like neurogenesis, neuronal migration, programmed cell death, and differentiation. While the role of the classical neurotransmitters glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on neuronal development is well establ...

A two-step column-chromatographic procedure for accurate and rapid determination of taurine in urine is described. Sulfosalicyclic-acid deproteinized samples are chromatographed on a 0.9 X 10 cm column of cation-exchange resin (AG 50W-XB), with use of a pH 2.2 sodium citrate eluting buffer such that taurine and the more highly acidic compounds in urine are eluted in the void volume, and then on...

Rhodobacter capsulatus was shown to grow efficiently with taurine as sole source of sulfur. We identified a gene region exhibiting similarity to the Escherichia coli tauABC genes coding for a taurine-specific ABC transporter. The R. capsulatus tauABC genes were flanked by two putative operons (orf459-484-590 and cysE-srpI-nifS2) both reading in opposite direction relative to tauABC. Orf459 show...

Taurine, a sulphur amino acid found endogenously in human and in several others. It is significantly in higher concentration in mammals and has a number of physiological and pharmacological actions and also used in the therapy of important organ dysfunctions. It is essential for cat and conditional for humans. A patient on parenteral nutrition (PN) may develop taurine deficiency which may hampe...

Taurine, a conditionally essential amino acid, plays a critical role in cardiovascular function. Here we examined the effect of taurine on mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in rat cardiomyocytes during glucose deprivation (GD). Data showed that cell viability, intracellular taurine contents, and taurine transporter expression were decreased during GD. In contrast, an increase in reactive o...

Variations in the concentration of taurine have been noted by several workers during chromatographic investigation of urinary amino-acids (Kay and Entenman, 1954; Souchon and Grunau, 1952; Ishihara, Komori, and lida, 1951 ; Nardi, 1954; Beerstecher, Sutton, Berry, Brown, Reed, Rich, Berry, and Williams, 1950). Taurine is present in high concentration in liver (Tallan, 1954), and it is in the li...

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of taurine treatment on cell viability and proliferations in BHK-21 cells. In this study, BHK-21 cells were seeded at a density of 50.000/ml per well in 96 well plates in medium composed of Glasgow-Minimum Essential Medium (GMEM). The cells were either left untreated (control) or treated with different concentrations of taurine for 24 h. XTT c...

To investigate the effects of taurine on cell proliferation and apoptosis, the human lung cancer A549 cell line and xenograft tumors in nude mice were used. The effects of taurine on cell proliferation and apoptosis were observed at time points of 24, 48 and 72 h after treatment using an MTT assay to detect the survival rate, and flow cytometry to detect the apoptotic rate. Western blot analysi...