Taurine and metabolic disease

Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid, which does not enter protein synthesis, and is traditionally considered as an inert molecule without any reactive groups. Besides the well-known conjugation with bile acids, taurine has a number of other physiological functions such as, intracellular osmolyte for volume regulation and some antioxidant properties (Bouckenooghe et al., 2006; Hansen, 2001; Huxtable, 1992; Jacobsen and Smith, 1968; SchullerLevis and Park, 2003). Taurine is thus not expected to be directly involved in metabolic pathways. Nevertheless, taurine deficiency in the cat results in a marked dysfunction of energy demanding tissues (i.e. retina and heart) (Sturman, 1993), and similar observations are seen in the taurine-transporter knockout mouse (Warskulat et al., 2007).