American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 61, 1115-1119, Copyright © 1995 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Plasma and platelet taurine are reduced in subjects with insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus: effects of taurine supplementation

F Franconi, F Bennardini, A Mattana, M Miceli, M Ciuti, M Mian, A Gironi, R Anichini and G Seghieri
Institute of Biochemistry, University of Sassari, Italy.

Plasma and platelet taurine concentrations were assayed in 39 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and in 34 control subjects matched for age, sex, and both total and protein-derived daily energy intake. Platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid in vitro at baseline and after oral taurine supplementation (1.5 g/d) for 90 d was also studied. Plasma and platelet taurine concentrations (mean +/- SEM) were lower in diabetic patients (65.6 +/- 3.1 mumol/L, or 0.66 +/- 0.07 mol/g protein) than in control subjects (93.3 +/- 6.3 mumol/L, or 0.99 +/- 0.16 mol/g protein, P < 0.01). After oral supplementation, both plasma and platelet taurine concentrations increased significantly in the diabetic patients, reaching the mean values of healthy control subjects. The effective dose (mean +/- SEM) of arachidonic acid required for platelets to aggregate was significantly lower in diabetic patients than in control subjects (0.44 +/- 0.07 mmol compared with 0.77 +/- 0.02 mmol, P < 0.001, whereas after taurine supplementation it equaled the mean value for healthy control subjects (0.72 +/- 0.04 mmol). In in vitro experiments, taurine reduced platelet aggregation in diabetic patients in a dose-dependent manner, whereas 10 mmol taurine/L did not modify aggregation in healthy subjects.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M Jensen-Waern, M Andersson, R Kruse, B Nilsson, R Larsson, O Korsgren, and B Essen-Gustavsson Effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in domestic pigs with focus on the amino acid metabolism Lab Anim, July 1, 2009; 43(3): 249 - 254. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. M. H. Anderson, A. Howard, J. R. F. Walters, V. Ganapathy, and D. T. Thwaites Taurine uptake across the human intestinal brush-border membrane is via two transporters: H+-coupled PAT1 (SLC36A1) and Na+- and Cl--dependent TauT (SLC6A6) J. Physiol., February 15, 2009; 587(4): 731 - 744. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Merheb, R. T. Daher, M. Nasrallah, R. Sabra, F. N. Ziyadeh, and K. Barada Taurine Intestinal Absorption and Renal Excretion Test in Diabetic Patients: A pilot study Diabetes Care, October 1, 2007; 30(10): 2652 - 2654. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. F. McCarty and K. I. Block Toward a Core Nutraceutical Program for Cancer Management Integr Cancer Ther, June 1, 2006; 5(2): 150 - 171. [Abstract] [PDF]

				F. Li, I. G. Obrosova, O. Abatan, D. Tian, D. Larkin, E. L. Stuenkel, and M. J. Stevens Taurine replacement attenuates hyperalgesia and abnormal calcium signaling in sensory neurons of STZ-D rats Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, January 1, 2005; 288(1): E29 - E36. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Rakotoambinina, L. Marks, A. M. Badran, F. Igliki, F. Thuillier, P. Crenn, B. Messing, and D. Darmaun Taurine kinetics assessed using [1,2-13C2]taurine in healthy adult humans Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, August 1, 2004; 287(2): E255 - E262. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Bustamante, M. V. T. Lobo, F. J. Alonso, N.-T. A. Mukala, E. Gine, J. M. Solis, J. Tamarit-Rodriguez, and R. Martin Del Rio An osmotic-sensitive taurine pool is localized in rat pancreatic islet cells containing glucagon and somatostatin Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, December 1, 2001; 281(6): E1275 - E1285. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. D Militante, J. B Lombardini, and S. W Schaffer The role of taurine in the pathogenesis of the cardiomyopathy of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus Cardiovasc Res, June 1, 2000; 46(3): 393 - 402. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Q. di Wu, J. H. Wang, F. Fennessy, H. P. Redmond, and D. Bouchier-Hayes Taurine prevents high-glucose-induced human vascular endothelial cell apoptosis Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, December 1, 1999; 277(6): C1229 - C1238. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]