The role of taurine on atherogenesis induced by high fat diet in rats, a species which depends entirely on taurine for conjugation of bile acids has been investigated. Wistar male rats were fed on (p.o.) taurine in addition to high fat diet (11% coconut oil w/w) for 6 months. High fat diet caused significant increase of serum total cholesterol (2 fold), serum triglycerides (92.6%), LDL choleste...

Taurine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, is a normal constituent of the human diet. Little is known of the pharmacokinetics of taurine in man after oral administration. We studied the pharmacokinetics of 4 g taurine in eight healthy male volunteers (median age 27.5, range 22-45) following orally administration in the fasting state in the morning. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals an...

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a sulfur-containing amino acid that is found in millimolar concentrations, and is especially high in excitable tissues in neonates. During development, the levels of taurine decline to reach stable adult concentrations that are second to those of glutamate. Taurine is found in very high concentrations in the retina (Pasantes-Morales et al. 1972) and later...

An extracellular nonsynaptic taurine pool of glial origin was recently reported in the substantia nigra (SN). There is previous evidence showing taurine as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the SN, but the physiological role of this nonsynaptic pool of taurine has not been explored. By using microdialysis methods, we studied the action of local osmolarity on the nonsynaptic taurine pool in the ...

All cats fed a taurine-free casein diet for 23 weeks have shown a nondetectable electroretinogram (ERG) in association with a plasma and retinal taurine deficiency. In the present study, the casein diet was supplemented with either taurine or taurine precursors (methionine or cysteine) for 23 weeks to see if retinal function would be preserved. Cats fed the casein diet supplemented with methion...

The mechanisms of action of endogenous modulatory ligands of connexin channels are largely unknown. Previous work showed that protonated aminosulfonates (AS), notably taurine, directly and reversibly inhibit homomeric and heteromeric channels that contain Cx26, a widely distributed connexin, but not homomeric Cx32 channels. The present study investigated the molecular mechanisms of connexin cha...

Taurine is essential for the hepatic synthesis of bile salts and, although taurine is synthesized mainly in pericentral hepatocytes, taurine and taurine-conjugated bile acids are abundant in periportal hepatocytes. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that the active supply of taurine to hepatocytes from the blood stream is a key regulatory factor. The purpose of the present study i...

To assess the dynamics of taurine metabolism in vivo, two sets of studies were carried out in healthy volunteers. First, pilot studies were carried in a single human subject to determine the time course of plasma and whole blood isotope enrichment over the course of an 8-h, unprimed continuous infusion of [1,2-(13)C(2)]taurine. Second, five healthy adult males received two tracer infusions on s...

The potential role of taurine on epilepsy and acupuncture anti-convulsion was addressed in the present study. Epilepsy was induced by micro-injection of penicillin into hippocampus of Wistar rats. Taurine was applied by intraperitioneal (i.p.) injection. Electro-acupuncture (EA) was performed on acupoints of DU 20 "Bai Hui" and DU 16 "Feng Fu" along DU channel. Epileptic grades were evaluated b...

Taurine (2-aminoethane sulfonic acid) is found in high concentrations in the heart, particularly in Purkinje fibers. We studied the transport of taurine in Purkinje fibers that were excised rapidly from the heart and placed in a vessel containing oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit solution (37 degrees C). After equilibration, 4.4 x 10(-6)M radiolabeled taurine[14C] was added to the bath. A computer com...