Intense exercise is thought to increase oxidative stress and damage muscle tissue. Taurine is present in high concentration in skeletal muscle and may play a role in cellular defenses against free radical-mediated damage. The aim of this study was to determine if manipulating muscle levels of taurine would alter markers of free radical damage after exercise-induced injury. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were supplemented via the drinking water with either 3% (w/v) taurine (n = 10) or the competitive taurine transport inhibitor, beta-alanine (n = 10), for one month. Controls (n = 20) drank tap water containing 0.02% taurine and all rats were placed on a taurine free diet. All the rats except one group of sedentary controls (n = 10) were subjected to 90 minutes of downhill treadmill running. Markers of cellular injury and free radical damage were determined along with tissue amino acid content. The 3% taurine treatment raised plasma levels about 2-fold and 3% beta-alanine reduced plasma taurine levels about 50%. Taurine supplementation (TS) significantly increased plasma glutamate levels in exercised rats. Exercise reduced plasma methionine levels and taurine prevented its decline. Taurine supplementation increased muscle taurine content significantly in all muscles except the soleus. beta-alanine decreased muscle taurine content about 50% in all the muscles examined. Lipid peroxidation (TBARS) was significantly increased by exercise in the extensor digitorium longus (EDL) and gastrocnemius (GAST) muscles. Both taurine and beta-alanine completely blocked the increase in TBARs in the EDL, but had no effect in the GAST. Muscle content of the cytosolic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was significantly decreased by exercise in the GAST muscle and this effect was attenuated by both taurine and beta-alanine. Muscle myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was significantly elevated in the gastrocnemius muscle, but diet had no effect. MPO activity was significantly increased by exercise in the liver and both taurine and beta-alanine blocked this effect. There was no effect of either exercise or the diets on MPO activity in the lung or spleen. Running performance as assessed by a subjective rating scale was improved by taurine supplementation and there was a significant loss in body weight in the beta-alanine-treated rats 24 hours after exercise. In summary, taurine supplementation or taurine depletion had measurable cytoprotective actions to attenuate exercise-induced injury.

Abstract:Taurine has been suggested to have cytoprotective actions via a number of different mechanisms. The role of taurine in protecting DNA from oxidative damage has received only limited attention. The aim of the present studies was to test the hypothesis that taurine might act to attenuate oxidative damage to DNA caused by free radicals generated by iron-stimulated catecholamine oxidation in the presence of H2O2. Calf thymus DNA (100 µg/tube) was exposed to a reaction mixture containing: ferric chloride (60 µM), H2O2 (2.8 mM) and L-dopa (100 µM). Taurine and taurine analogs were added simultaneously to determine their effects to prevent oxidative damage to DNA. The reaction was carried out for 1 hour at 37º C and terminated by rapid freezing in an ethanol/dry ice bath. The DNA was precipitated with ethanol and subsequently hydrolyzed with formic acid under vacuum. The hydroxylated bases were separated by HPLC and detected electrochemically. All experiments were replicated a minimum of 5 times. Taurine (20 mM) was found to reduce (p<0.05) damage to DNA as indexed by reductions in the formation of 5-OH-uracil 8-OH adenine and 8-OH guanine Taurine had minimal effects to reduce the formation of 5-OH cytosine Taurine (20 mM) also increased total DNA recovery after damage 3640% and increased total undamaged guanine -32%. 5-OH Uracil formation could be reduced (p<0.05) by 1 mM taurine and 8-OH-adenine formation was reduced (p<0.05) by 5 mM taurine. Studies were conducted with various amino acid analogs and total base adduct formation was reduced by 20 mM ß-alanine lysine and glutathione When tested at 20 mM, both hypotaurine and homotaurine provided greater protection against DNA damage than taurine, whereas isethionic acid provided a similar level of protection as taurine. Using identical conditions as the assays for base hydroxylation, we tested whether inhibition of quinone formation could account for taurine's mechanism of action. Taurine homotaurine and hypotaurine all reduced quinone formation. Thus, inhibition of quinone formation could account for part of taurine's mechanism of action to inhibit oxidative damage, but it could not account for homotaurine's greater efficacy in preventing DNA damage. Overall, these studies show that taurine at concentrations normally found in cells can inhibit oxidative damage to DNA.

Taurine is present in high concentrations in mammalian tissues and has been implicated in cardiovascular control mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of taurine to attenuate salt-induced elevations in blood pressure and markers of damage to the kidney and cardiovascular system in stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SPSHR). Male SPSHR (6 weeks old) were placed on high salt diets that contained 1% (w/w) NaCl added to their normal chow for 84 days and then were switched to 3% added NaCl for the remaining 63 days of the study. SPSHR was given 1.5% taurine in the drinking water (n = 8), a taurine free diet (n = 8) or normal chow (n = 8). A final control group (n = 6) was not given high salt diets. High salt diets caused an acceleration in the development of hypertension in all groups. Taurine supplementation reduced ventricular hypertrophy and decreased urinary excretion of protein and creatinine. The taurine free diet did not alter serum or urinary excretion of taurine, but did result in elevated urinary nitrogen excretion, increased serum cholesterol levels, and impaired performance in a spatial learning task. Alterations in dietary taurine intake did not alter urinary or serum electrolytes (Na+, K+), but taurine supplementation did attenuate a rise in serum calcium seen with the high salt diets. Urinary excretion (microg/24h) of epinephrine and dopamine was significantly reduced in SPSHR given 1% NaCl in the diet, but this effect was not seen in SPSHR on taurine free or supplemented diets. Taurine supplementation showed cardioprotective and renoprotective effects in SPSHR given high salt diets.