title: Taurine kinetics assessed using [1,2-13C2]taurine in healthy adult humans.
abstract: 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 separate days and in randomized order: 1) a 6-h continuous infusion of [1,2-(13)C(2)]taurine (3.1 +/- 0.2 micromol x kg(-1) x h(-1)) and 2) a bolus injection of [(13)C(2)]taurine (3.0 +/- 0.1 micromol/kg). Isotope enrichments in plasma and whole blood taurine were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The pilot experiments allowed us to establish that steady-state isotope enrichment was reached in plasma and whole blood by the 5th h of tracer infusion. The plateau enrichment reached in whole blood was lower than that obtained in plasma taurine (P < 0.02). In the second set of studies, the appearance rate (R(a)) of plasma taurine, determined from continuous infusion studies was 31.8 +/- 3.1 micromol x kg(-1) x h(-1). After a bolus injection of tracer, the enrichment decay over the subsequent 2 h was best fitted by a two-exponential curve. Taurine R(a) was approximately 85% higher when determined using the bolus injection technique compared with continuous infusion of tracer. We conclude that 1) taurine R(a) into plasma is very low in healthy postabsorptive humans, and, due to taurine compartmentation between the extra- and intracellular milieus, may represent only interorgan taurine transfer and merely a small fraction of whole body taurine turnover; and 2) the bolus injection technique may overestimate taurine appearance into plasma. Further studies are warranted to determine whether alterations in bile taurine dynamics affect taurine R(a).
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U290, Hôpital Lariboisière-Saint-Lazare, 75475 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rakotoambinina
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: Abdul Monem
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Badran
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Igliki
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thuillier
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Crenn
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Messing
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Darmaun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001825:Body Fluid Compartments / Q000502:physiology*; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005215:Fasting / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011849:Radioactive Tracers; D012016:Reference Values; D013654:Taurine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D011849:Radioactive Tracers; D013654:Taurine