pH-lactate dissociation during anoxic insult: taurine effect.
Taurine, a sulfur amino acid abundant in brain of the fetus and early day neonate, has been postulated to play a major role in mediating the immature brain's unusually high buffering ability for lactic acidosis reported previously. In this study, we directly investigated this 'taurine effect' using a 10-day-old rat pup model and multinuclear (31P and 1H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in-vivo spectroscopy. Brain of taurine-supplemented pups exhibited significantly higher acid buffering ability against lactic acidosis than age-matched control pups. The study supports the hypothesis that high levels of free cytosolic taurine increase the brain's ability to buffer against lactic acidosis.
Nakada
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Neurochemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Martinez, CA 94553.
Hida
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Kwee
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D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000097:blood*; D007773:Lactates / Q000097:blood*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D010725:Phosphocreatine / Q000378:metabolism; D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012119:Respiration / Q000187:drug effects; D013654:Taurine / Q000494:pharmacology*
D007773:Lactates; D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes; D010725:Phosphocreatine; D013654:Taurine; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate