The therapeutic role of taurine in ischaemia-reperfusion injury.
As a non-toxic endogenous antioxidant, the semi-essential amino acid taurine is a potential attenuator of oxidative damage such as that produced by ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Ischaemia-reperfusion injury is a well established if paradoxical phenomenon whereby ischaemic tissue, doomed to necrosis if it is not reperfused, is actually further damaged by oxidative attack when perfusion is restored. This paper is a review of the literature concerning therapeutic strategies in ischaemia-reperfusion injury, including non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions. There is consistent experimental evidence of an important role of taurine in ischaemia-reperfusion injury, with a clinical role emerging in human trials of taurine administered prior to coronary artery bypass grafting and heart valve surgery.
Biomedical Research Facility, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Ireland. rosski@gofree.indigo.ie
R
R
Kingston
C J
CJ
Kelly
P
P
Murray
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019194:Ischemic Preconditioning; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D013654:Taurine / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000975:Antioxidants; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D005609:Free Radicals; D014810:Vitamin E; D013654:Taurine; C066638:potassium ascorbyl tocopheryl phosphate; D001205:Ascorbic Acid