Taurine

Taurine:

    • For normal functioning of the heart, brain, gallbladder, breast, kidney, eyes and vascular system. It is the most abundant found in the heart.
    • Taurine is a derivative of the sulfur-containing (sulfhydryl) amino acid, cysteine. Taurine is one of the few known naturally occurring sulfonic acids.
  • Taurine is a sulfur amino acid like methionine, cystine, cysteine, and homocysteine.
  • It is a lesser-known amino acid because it is not incorporated into the structural building blocks of protein.
  • Taurine is an essential amino acid in pre-term and newborn infants of humans and many other species.
  • Adults can synthesize their own taurine, yet are probably depends in part on dietary taurine.
  • Taurine has many diverse biological functions serving as a neurotransmitter in the brain, a stabilizer of cell membranes and a facilitator in the transport of ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
  • Cysteine is needed to make Taurine.

Antioxidant functions:

  • Taurine scavenges excess hypochlorite ion, OCl-, in leukocytes and facilitates effective phagocytosis by enhancing survival of leukocytes.

Deficient taurine may lead to an increased inflammatory response to:

  • Toxins
  • Foreign proteins
  • Xenobiotic chemicals including aldehydes, alcohols, amines, petroleum solvents, and chlorine or chloride (bleach).

Brain:

  • Acts as a neurotransmitter that inhibits anxiety.
  • Taurine in the brain is usually associated with zinc or manganese. The amino acids alanine and glutamic acid, as well as pantothenic acid, inhibit taurine metabolism while vitamins A and B6, zinc, and manganese help build taurine. Cysteine and B6 are the nutrients most directly involved in taurine synthesis.
  • Taurine levels have been found to decrease significantly in many depressed patients. One reason that the findings are not entirely clear is that taurine is often elevated in the blood of epileptics who need it. It is often difficult to distinguish compensatory changes in human biochemistry from true metabolic or deficiency disease.

Eyes:

  • Low levels of taurine are found in retinitis pigmentosa. Taurine deficiency in experimental animals produces degeneration of light-sensitive cells. Therapeutic applications of taurine to eye disease are likely to be forthcoming.

Cholesterol:

  • Conjugation of cholesterol (as cholylcoenzyme A) to form taurocholic acid, an important component of bile and a major utilization of cholesterol. Mediation of the flux of electrolyte elements at the plasma membrane of cells. Deficient taurine may result in increased cellular calcium and sodium and reduced magnesium. Increased resistance to aggregation of blood platelets and decreased thromboxane release if aggregation does occur. Sparing of magnesium-globally. Urinary magnesium wasting can result from taurine insufficiency. Magnesium deficiency may cause fatigue, depression, muscle tremor, and hypertension.

Inborn errors of taurine metabolism:

  • Urinary wasting can be secondary to generally increase renal clearance or nephrotic syndromes. Wasting can also occur when the similarly-structured amino acid beta-alanine is elevated or is present in kidney tubules. In molybdenum deficiency or sulfite oxidase impairment, elevated urine taurine results as a mode of sulfur excretion. Renal wasting of taurine can be medically significant if it affects one or more of taurine many important functions.
  • The uncommon condition of overall taurine excess (hypertaurinuria with hypertyrosinemia) usually is an insufficiency of sulfite oxidase activity, possibly due to molybdenum deficiency. In this condition, there is increased urinary sulfites and decreased sulfates. If molybdenum is deficient, uric acid levels are reduced, xanthine is increased and aldehyde detoxification is impaired (aldehyde intolerance).
  • OMIM 168605, an unusual neuropsychiatric disorder inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion through 3 generations of a family. Symptoms began late in the fifth decade in 6 affected persons and death occurred after 4 to 6 years. The earliest and most prominent symptom was mental depression not responsive to antidepressant drugs or electroconvulsive therapy. Sleep disturbances, exhaustion, and marked weight loss were features. Parkinsonism developed later, and respiratory failure occurred terminally.
  • OMIM 145350 describes congestive cardiomyopathy and markedly elevated urinary taurine levels (about 5 times normal). Other family members had late or holosystolic mitral valve prolapse and elevated urinary taurine values (about 2.5 times normal). In 2 with mitral valve prolapse, congestive cardiomyopathy eventually developed while the amounts of urinary taurine doubled. Taurine, after GABA, is the second most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Its inhibitory effect is one source of taurine's anticonvulsant and anti-anxiety properties. It also lowers glutamic acid in the brain, and preliminary clinical trials suggest taurine may be useful in some forms of epilepsy.

Metabolic roles:

  • Supplements can stimulate prolactin and insulin release.
  • The parathyroid gland makes a peptide hormone called glutaurine (glutamic acid-taurine), which further demonstrates taurines role in endocrinology.
  • Taurine increases bilirubin and cholesterol excretion in bile, critical to normal gallbladder function.
  • It seems to inhibit the effect of morphine and potentiates the effects of opiate antagonists.
  • Low plasma taurine levels have been found in a variety of conditions, i.e., depression, hypertension, hypothyroidism, gout, institutionalized patients, infertility, obesity, kidney failure, and others. (http://www.dcnutrition.com/AminoAcids/)

Neurotransmitter functions:

  • Taurine strongly influences neuronal concentrations and activities of GABA and glutamic acid.
  • Taurine can have anticonvulsant and antiepileptic effects.

Uses:

  • Used to transport magnesium and potassium from the bloodstream into the cells.
  • Treat heart disease.
  • Treat some forms of epilepsy.

Dietary:

  • A conditionally essential nutrient, important during mammalian development. It is present in milk but is isolated mostly from ox bile and strongly conjugates bile acids.
  • Essential nutrient obtained from the diet and by in vivo synth. from methionine and cysteine.
  • Taurine is measured to be elevated in the urine, which is consistent with excess dietary intake, or with urinary wasting due to poor renal conservation.
  • Excessive dietary intake of taurine-rich sources like seafood (especially shellfish), and from liver and organ meats may elevate plasma blood levels, as may consumption of taurine-supplemented sports and stimulant drinks.
  • Present in meats, fish, legumes, human milk, mollusks, and other foodstuffs.
  • Taurine is highly concentrated in animal and fish protein, which are good sources of dietary taurine. It can be synthesized by the body from cysteine when vitamin B6 is present.
  • Deficiency of taurine occurs in premature infants and neonates fed formula milk, and in various disease states.

Dietary supplement:

  • In Red Bull drink

Animals:

  • Taurine is an essential dietary requirement for feline health since cats cannot synthesize the compound. The absence of taurine causes a cat's retina to slowly degenerate, causing eye problems and (eventually) irreversible blindness? a condition is known as central retinal degeneration (CRD), as well as hair loss and tooth decay. It was discovered in 1987 that taurine deficiency can also cause feline dilated cardiomyopathy. Unlike CRD, the condition is reversible with supplementation.
  • Taurine is now a requirement of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and any dry or wet food product labeled approved by the AAFCO should have a minimum of 0.1% taurine in dry food and 0.2% in wet food.; Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic acid. It is also a major constituent of bile and can be found in the lower intestine and in small amounts in the tissues of many animals, including humans.

Pathologies attributed to taurine insufficiency include:

  • Biliary insufficiency, fat malabsorption (steatorrhea), cardiac arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, poor vision, retinal degeneration, a granulomatous disorder of neutrophils, immune dysfunction, enhanced inflammatory response to xenobiotics, convulsions, and seizures.

Taurine Health Effects:

    • Anti corneitic
    • Antihemolytic
    • Antioxidant
    • Cancer preventive
    • Cardiac
    • Hypocholesterolemic

Taurine Interacts with Diseases: Disease Inference Score

    • Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental 84.0
    • Reperfusion Injury 50.41
    • Brain Ischemia 50.03
    • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 48.16
    • Prostatic Neoplasms 37.99
    • Alcoholic liver cirrhosis 34.09
    • Alzheimer's Disease 31.57
    • Myocardial Reperfusion Injury 29.76
    • Breast carcinoma 27.48
    • Lung Neoplasms 27.05
    • Obesity 26.83
    • Myocardial Ischemia 26.3
    • Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental 25.73
    • Myocardial infarction 25.73
    • Psoriasis 25.58
    • Hypertension 25.3
    • Colonic neoplasm 25.2
    • Inflammation 24.46
    • Retinal Diseases 23.06
    • Trigeminal Neuralgia 23.04
    • Cardiomyopathies 22.83
    • Cardiac hypertrophy 22.14
    • Asthma 22.02
    • Rheumatoid arthritis 21.7
    • Stomach Neoplasms 21.45
    • Cell Transformation, Neoplastic 21.21
    • Ulcerative colitis 20.91
    • Disease Models, Animal 20.76
    • Neoplasm Metastasis 20.72
    • Hepatocellular carcinoma 20.39
    • Radiation Injuries, Experimental 20.38
    • Neoplasm Invasiveness 19.85
    • Status Epilepticus 19.6
    • Colitis 19.56
    • Sepsis 19.49
    • Heart failure 19.17
    • Arthritis, Experimental 19.08
    • Burns 18.59
    • Hernia, Diaphragmatic 18.41
    • Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal 18.38
    • Ischemia 18.31
    • Adenocarcinoma 17.9
    • Diabetic Neuropathies 17.77
    • Atherosclerosis 17.76
    • Dermatitis, Contact 17.24
    • Nerve Degeneration 17.23
    • Hyperalgesia 17.07
    • Diabetic retinopathy 17.0
    • Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery 16.5
    • Retinal Detachment 16.08
    • Intracerebral hemorrhage 15.85
    • Pulmonary Emphysema 15.76
    • Brain Injuries 15.53
    • Squamous cell carcinoma 15.39
    • Pneumonia 15.12
    • Wounds and Injuries 15.02
    • Pulmonary Fibrosis 14.8
    • Fibrosis 14.6
    • Shock, Hemorrhagic 14.5
    • Pleurisy 14.48
    • PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM BLOOD INFECTION LEVEL 14.38
    • Liver Diseases 14.18
    • Cholestasis 14.11
    • Lung Diseases 14.02
    • Genetic Predisposition to Disease 13.97
    • Acute kidney injury 13.84
    • Stroke 13.84
    • Renal cell carcinoma 13.77
    • Calcinosis 13.72
    • Head and Neck Neoplasms 13.63
    • HIV Wasting Syndrome 13.36
    • Schizophrenia 13.09
    • Hypogonadism 13.06
    • Infertility, Female 12.9
    • Heat Stroke 12.77
    • Kidney Failure, Chronic 12.6
    • Insulin resistance 12.5
    • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 12.45
    • Fatty Liver 12.27
    • Visceral leishmaniasis 12.23
    • Autoimmune disease 12.22
    • Pneumonia, Pneumococcal 12.22
    • Copper-Overload Cirrhosis 12.2
    • Colorectal cancer 12.18
    • Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular 12.16
    • Marfan Syndrome 11.95
    • Berylliosis 11.89
    • Hepatitis, Chronic 11.64
    • Albinism, Oculocutaneous 11.61
    • Myocardial Stunning 11.57
    • Pleural Diseases 11.13
    • Stomach Ulcer 11.1
    • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung 11.0
    • Oral Submucous Fibrosis 10.97
    • Albinism ocular late onset sensorineural deafness 10.72
    • Intestinal Neoplasms 10.62
    • Necrosis 10.62
    • Seizures 10.58
    • Hyperinsulinism 10.49
    • Osteochondrodysplasias 10.49
    • Pancreatic carcinoma 10.47
    • Vascular System Injuries 10.36
    • Mitochondrial Myopathies 10.31
    • Glomerulonephritis 10.28
    • Ovarian Neoplasms 10.06
    • Male infertility 10.04
    • Alcohol dependence 10.0
    • Brain Neoplasms 9.99
    • Autism 9.91
    • Obesity, Morbid 9.89
    • Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis 9.68
    • Parkinson's disease 9.64
    • Precancerous Conditions 9.46
    • Abortion, Spontaneous 9.38
    • Diabetic Cardiomyopathies 9.36
    • Manganese Poisoning 9.35
    • Anthracosis 9.31
    • Polymyositis 9.24
    • Heart Diseases 9.11
    • Polycystic ovary syndrome 9.11
    • Multiple Organ Failure 9.08
    • Learning Disorders 9.05
    • Endometriosis 8.82
    • Protein Deficiency 8.8
    • Parkinsonian Disorders 8.78
    • Allergy 8.74
    • Acute Lung Injury 8.72
    • Dilated cardiomyopathy 8.69
    • Asphyxia Neonatorum 8.67
    • Carcinoma 8.62
    • Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 8.61
    • Diabetic Angiopathies 8.59
    • Atopic eczema 8.54
    • Substance Withdrawal Syndrome 8.5
    • Hyperemia 8.48
    • Gliosis 8.46
    • Turner Syndrome 8.43
    • Iga glomerulonephritis 8.3
    • Bronchiectasis 8.18
    • Ischemic Attack, Transient 8.12
    • Hyperbilirubinemia 8.11
    • Muscular Dystrophies 8.0
    • Deafness 7.95
    • Craniofacial Abnormalities 7.92
    • Entamoebiasis 7.92
    • Silicosis 7.79
    • Premature Birth 7.78
    • Ceroid lipofuscinosis, neuronal 1, infantile 7.77
    • Ventricular Dysfunction 7.76
    • Albuminuria 7.75
    • Hypertrophy 7.75
    • Neurodegenerative Diseases 7.75
    • Melanoma 7.74
    • Mycoplasma Infections 7.72
    • Diabetic nephropathy 7.7
    • CARDIOMYOPATHY, DILATED, 3B 7.69
    • Urticaria 7.64
    • Keratosis 7.63
    • Nervous System Diseases 7.63
    • Multiple myeloma 7.59

Gene:

    • CASP3
    • CAT
    • DUSP1
    • HMOX1
    • TNF
    • BCL2
    • BCL2L1
    • MAPK8
    • TGFB1
    • RELA
    • MAPK1
    • MAPK3
    • UGT1A1
    • BAX
    • CYP2E1
    • TYR
    • XDH
    • DMD
    • THRB
    • IRS1
    • PRKCD
    • TYRP1
    • BAD
    • GPT
    • INSR
    • STAR
    • G6PD
    • SIRT1
    • MPO
    • SLC2A4
    • VEGFA
    • CYB5A
    • IL6
    • CAP2
    • CHAT
    • CYCS
    • COL2A1
    • TPH1
    • MMP9
    • LDHC
    • ACHE
    • IKBKB
    • DBH
    • IL1B
    • NOS2
    • ICAM1
    • ATP2A2
    • BDNF
    • FAS
    • IGFBP3
    • ABL2
    • BMPR2
    • SPRY2
    • RAD51C
    • PAG1
    • CXCR3
    • RAPGEF2
    • ADRA1B
    • ADORA2A
    • SLC6A6
    • LEPR
    • RASGRP1
    • SLC2A2
    • FSHB
    • PPP2R5E
    • DDAH1
    • SCG5
    • BID
    • LYN
    • MS4A6A
    • ADAP2
    • FGFR1
    • PSEN2
    • STAT3
    • ABCC2
    • TEK
    • GUCY1A3
    • ABCB11
    • PPP1R16B
    • HMGB1
    • PTPRK
    • PRKAR2B
    • POLB
    • PRKCA
    • TYK2
    • DGKZ
    • POLD1
    • RPS6KA2
    • SMC3
    • TACR1
    • XRCC4
    • AGTR2
    • GRM7