Abstract
Taurine has potent protective function against glutamate-induced neuronal injury presumably through its function in regulation of intracellular free calcium level, [Ca2+]i. In this communication, we report that taurine exerts its protective function through one or more of the following mechanisms: 1. Inhibition of glutamate-induced calcium influx through L-, N- and P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channels and NMDA receptor calcium channel; 2. Attenuation of glutamate-induced membrane depolarization; 3. Prevention of glutamate-induced apoptosis via preventing glutamate-mediated down-regulation of Bcl-2; 4. Prevention of cleavage of Bcl-2 by calpain. This action of taurine is due to its inhibition on glutamate induced calpain activation. Based on these observations, we propose that taurine protects neurons against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in part, by preventing glutamate-induced membrane depolarization, elevation of [Ca2+]i, activation of calpain, reduction of Bcl-2 and apoptosis.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
- NMDA Receptor
- Neuroprotective Function
- Primary Neuronal Cell Culture
- Intracellular Free Calcium Level
- Intracellular Calcium Accumulation
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
References
Ankarcrona M, Dypbukt JM, Bonfoco E, Zhivotovsky B, Orrenius S, Lipton SA, Nicotera P (1995) Glutamate-induced neuronal death: a succession of necrosis or apoptosis depending on mitochondrial function. Neuron 15:961–973
Behar T N, Scott CA, Greene CL, Wen X, Smith SV, Maric D, Liu QY, Colton CA, Barker JL (1999) Glutamate acting at NMDA receptors stimulates embryonic cortical neuronal migration. J. Neurosci 19:4449–4461
Bianchi L, Colivicchi MA, Ballini C, Fattori M, Venturi C, Giovannini MG, Healy J, Tipton KF, Della Corte L (2006) Taurine, taurine analogues, and taurine functions: overview. Adv Exp Med Biol 583:443–448
Chen WQ, Nguyen M, Carr J, Lee YJ, Jin H, Foos T, Hsu CC, Davis KM, Schloss JV, Wu J-Y (2001) Role of taurine in regulation of intracellular calcium level and neuroprotective function in cultured neurons. J Neurosci Res 66:612–619
El Idrissi A (2006) Taurine increases mitochondrial buffering of calcium: role in neuroprotection. Amino Acids [Epub ahead of print]
Hayes KC, Carey RE, Schmidt SY (1975) Retinal degeneration associated with taurine deficiency in the cat. Science 188:949–951
Henshall DC, Araki T, Schindler CK, Lan JQ, Tiekoter KL, Taki W, Simon RP (2002), Activation of Bcl-2-associated death protein and counter-response of Akt within cell populations during seizure-induced neuronal death. J Neurosci 22:8458–8465
Hirai K, Yoshioka H, Kihara M, Hasegawa K, Sakamoto T, Sawada T, Fushiki S (1999) Inhibiting neuronal migration by blocking NMDA receptors in the embryonic rat cerebral cortex: a tissue culture study. Brain Res Dev Brain Res 114:63–67
Ikonomidou C, Bosch F, Miksa M, Bittigau P, Vockler P, Dikranian K, Tenkova TI, Stefovska V, Turski L, Olney JW (1999) Blockade of NMDA receptors and apoptotic neurodegeneration in the developing brain. Science 283:70–74
Komuro H, Rakic P (1993) Modulation of neuronal migration by NMDA receptors. Science 260:95–97
Lin CT, Su YYT, Song GX, Wu JY (1985) Is taurine a neurotransmitter in rabbit retina? Brain Res 337:293–298
Masliah E, Mallory M, Alford M, Tanaka S, Hansen LA (1998) Caspase dependent DNA fragmentation might be associated with excitotoxicity in Alzheimer disease. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 57:1041–1052
Moran J, Salazar P, Pasantes-Morales H (1988) Effect of tocopherol and taurine on membrane fluidity of retinal rod outer segments. Exp Eye Res 45:769–776
Okamoto K, Kimura H, Sakai Y (1983) Evidence for taurine as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in cerebellar stellate interneurons: Selective antagonism by TAG (6-aminomethyl-3-methyl-4H, 1,2,4-benzothiadiazine-1,1-dioxide). Brain Res 265:163–168
Pasantes-Morales H, Cruz C (1984) Protective effect of taurine and zinc on peroxidation-induced damage in photoreceptor outer segments. J Neurosci Res; 11(3):303–11
Pasantes-Morales H, Cruz C (1985) Taurine and hypotaurine inhibit light-induced lipid peroxidation and protect rod outer segment structure. Brain Res 330:154–157
Pion PD, Kittleson MD, Rogers QR, Morris JG (1987) Myocardial failure in cats associated with low plasma taurine: A reversible cardiomyopathy. Science 237:764–768
Portera-Cailliau C, Hedreen JC, Price DL, Koliatsos VE (1995) Evidence for apoptotic cell death in Huntington disease and excitotoxic animal models. J Neurosci 15:3775–3787
Schaffer S, Takahashi K, Azuma J, (2000) Role of osmoregulation in the actions of taurine. Amino Acids 19:527–546
Schaffer S, Azuma J, Takahashi K, Mozaffari M (2003) Why is taurine cytoprotective? In: Lombardini JB, Schaffer S W and Azuma J (eds) Taurine 5, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, pp 307–321
Sturman JA (1993) Taurine in development. Physiol Rev 73:119-147
Tang XW, Deupree DL, Sun Y, Wu JY (1996) Biphasic effect of taurine on excitatory amino acid-induced neurotoxicity. In: Huxtable RJ, Azuma J, Nakagawa M, Kuriyama K, Bala A (eds) Taurine: Basic and Clinical Aspects, Plenum Publishing Co, pp 499–506
Wade JV, Olson JP, Samson FE, Nelson SR, Pazdernik TL (1988) A possible role for taurine in osmoregulation within the brain. J Neurochem 51:740–745
Ward R, Cirkovic-Vellichovia T, Ledeque F, Tirizitis G, Dubars G, Datla K, Dexter D, Heushling P, Crichton R (2006) Neuroprotection by taurine and taurine analogues. Adv Exp Med Biol 583:299–306
Wu G, Malinow R, Cline HT (1996) Maturation of central glutamatergic synapse. Sciece 274: 972–976
Wu H, Jin Y, Wei J, Jin H, Sha D, Wu JY (2005) Mode of action of taurine as a neuroprotector. Brain Res 1038:123–131
Young TL, Cepko CL (2004) A role for ligand-gated ion channels in rod photoreceptor development. Neuron 41:867–879
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wu, JY. et al. (2009). Mechanism of Neuroprotective Function of Taurine. In: Azuma, J., Schaffer, S.W., Ito, T. (eds) Taurine 7. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 643. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75681-3_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75681-3_17
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-75680-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-75681-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)