Effects and Mechanisms of Taurine as a Therapeutic Agent (report)

Taurine is a β-amino acid found in most cells with diverse cytoprotective activity. In some species, taurine is an essential nutrient but in man it is considered a semi-essential nutrient, although cells lacking taurine show major pathology. These findings have spurred interest in the potential use of taurine as a therapeutic agent. The discovery that taurine is an effective therapy against congestive heart failure (CHF) led to the study of taurine as a therapeutic agent against other disease conditions. Today, taurine has been approved for the treatment of CHF in Japan and shows promise in the treatment of several other diseases. The present review summarizes studies supporting a role of taurine in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CHF, hypertension, atherosclerosis, ischemic reperfusion injury, arrhythmia) and metabolic diseases (mitochondrial diseases — MELAS, diabetes mellitus and obesity). The review covers both experimental studi es on animal models and clinical trials, and addresses the functions of taurine (regulation of antioxidation, energy metabolism, gene expression, ER stress, quality control and calcium homeostasis) underlying its therapeutic actions.

Keywords: taurine, cytoprotection, antioxidation, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases.

For citation: Effects and Mechanisms of Taurine as a Therapeutic Agent (report). RMJ. 2020;6:10–14.