title: Effect of taurine on ischemia-reperfusion injury.
abstract: Taurine is an abundant β-amino acid that regulates several events that dramatically influence the development of ischemia-reperfusion injury. One of these events is the extrusion of taurine and Na+ from the cell via the taurine/Na+ symport. The loss of Na+ during the ischemia-reperfusion insult limits the amount of available Na+ for Na+/Ca2+ exchange, an important process in the development of Ca2+ overload and the activation of the mitochondrial permeability transition, a key process in ischemia-reperfusion mediated cell death. Taurine also prevents excessive generation of reactive oxygen species by the respiratory chain, an event that also limits the activation of the MPT. Because taurine is an osmoregulator, changes in taurine concentration trigger "osmotic preconditioning," a process that activates an Akt-dependent cytoprotective signaling pathway that inhibits MPT pore formation. These effects of taurine have clinical implications, as experimental evidence reveals potential promise of taurine therapy in preventing cardiac damage during bypass surgery, heart transplantation and myocardial infarction. Moreover, severe loss of taurine from the heart during an ischemia-reperfusion insult may increase the risk of ventricular remodeling and development of heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, 36688, USA, sschaffe@southalabama.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Schaffer
authors.forename: Chian Ju
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Jong
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Azuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism; D013654:Taurine / Q000378:metabolism*; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013654:Taurine; D012964:Sodium; D002118:Calcium