A central mechanism of action for taurine: osmoregulation, bivalent cations, and excitation threshold.
A postulated zinc-taurine complex, with a zinc affinity intermediate between that for glutamic acid dehydrogenase and the calcium binding protein(s), provides an explanation for a series of seemingly unrelated biochemical and physiological effects of taurine. The proposed complex suggests a central mechanism for the action of taurine, such as a bicarbonate and pH dependent influence on calcium and zinc movements (and vice versa), the osmoregulatory role of taurine, and its effect on the excitation threshold.
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002413:Cations, Divalent; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D013654:Taurine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance / Q000187:drug effects*; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism
D002413:Cations, Divalent; D013654:Taurine; D015032:Zinc; D002118:Calcium