18

Taurine
s. S. Oja and Pirjo Kontro

1. INTRODUCTION

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) was first discovered in ox bile and sub-

sequently in virtually all animals, many higher plants, molds, and bacteria. 1 In
the liver, the conjugation of taurine with cholic acid has long been known, but
its other possible physiological functions are less clear. It has been considered
an osmoregulator in marine animals,2 a stabilizer of muscle membranes,3 a
regulator of cardiac excitability,4 an inhibitory neurotransmitter or -modulator
in the brain and retina,5 and has been assigned a number of related regulatory
functions in the CNS. 6 Such intriguing hypotheses have lately prompted ex-
tensive investigation. Four recent international symposia have focused solely
on taurine,7-JO and a number of review articles have appeared on the sub-
ject. 5,11-16

2. TAURINE IN NERVOUS TISSUES

There are millimolar quantities of taurine in mammalian tissues. The organ

most enriched is often the heart, 2-40 mmollkg wet weight in various species,
together with other muscular tissue. 17 ,18 Relatively high levels have been noted
in the spleen, adrenal glands, kidneys, 18 and all sex organs. 19,20 Taurine content
is also remarkably high in the pituitary and pineal glands as well as in the
neurohypophysis,21-23 Throughout the nervous system, taurine is one of the
most abundant amino acids. 24 ,25 Marked species differences also obtain in the
brain, the content being high, for instance (3-8 mmol/kg), in the mouse and
rat, whereas the levels in the cat and guinea pig are considerably lower. 15 Many
reported taurine concentrations are misleadingly too high, however, because
of unsatisfactory separation of taurine from the phosphates of ethanolamine
and glyceroethanolamine in single-column amino-acid analyzers. 25 ,26

S. S. Oja and Pirjo Kontro • Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Tampere, Tam-
pere, Finland.

501
A. Lajtha (ed.), Metabolism in the Nervous System
© Plenum Press, New York 1983
502 Chapter 18

2.1. Regional Distribution

The regional distribution of taurine in the CNS is somewhat heterogeneous.
The cerebral cortex, cerebellum, olfactory bulbs, and striatum contain more
taurine than the pons-medulla and spinal cord in the rat. 24,27-29 Of the indi-
vidual nuclei, the lateral geniculate and inferior colliculus contain much
taurine. 21 ,30 In the inferior colliculus, the posterior region has the highest and
the anterior region the lowest taurine concentration in the cat.30 In the rat spinal
cord and thalamus, taurine is fairly evenly distributed. 31 ,32 However, the canine
lumbar spinal cord shows segmental differences, and selective decrements
occur in taurine content after thoracic transection. 33 In the rat striatum, some
taurine may be preferentially associated with kainic acid-sensitive34 inhibitory
intemeurons. 35
The intraregional distribution of taurine has been most thoroughly studied
in the rat cerebellum, where it has been considered an inhibitory transmitter
released from stellate cells. 36 Consistent with this, the taurine levels seem to
be lower in the excitatory granular cells but higher in the inhibitory stellate
cells37 ,38 than in the other cerebellar cortical cells. At variance with this, no
decrement in taurine levels was observed in the molecular layer or synapto-
somal fractions in the cerebellar cortex in adult neuron-deficient rats.39 More-
over, in an autoradiographic study, only Purkinje cell somata and dendrites
concentrated exogenous taurine. 40 The distribution of taurine in cerebellar pe-
duncles and four medullary nuclei41 and the depressant action of taurine on
Purkinje cell activity42 do not support a specific role for taurine in the cerebellar
excitatory climbing fibers in spite of high taurine levels in these. 43 -45 More
information is needed before taurine can be assigned a definite transmitter role
in any specific tracts, even in the cerebellum.
Taurine is the most abundant retinal amino acid in several animal spe-
cies. 46-48 In the retina, it is concentrated within the photoreceptor cell layer,
particularly in the inner segments, the outer nuclear layer, and synaptic ter-
minals. 48- 51 Exogenous [lH]taurine accumulates in the photoreceptor cells and
Muller fibers. 48,52 The retinal taurine content is markedly reduced in genetically
photoreceptorless mice,53 in rats afflicted with retinitis pigmentosa,54,55 and in
cats in which the photoreceptors have degenerated because of a taurine-free
diet. 56 Furthermore, a degeneration of the inner and outer cell layers of rat
retinas is accompanied by changes in retinal taurine levels. 57 Considerable
evidence thus supports the conclusion that most taurine in the retina is asso-
ciated with the photoreceptor cells, it being essential for their viability. 58,59

2.2. Cellular Distribution

Both glial and neuronal cells contain taurine. 60 ,61 The major part of brain
taurine has been recovered in soluble subcellular fractions. 62 In the bovine
brain, only 3-21% of total tissue taurine is sequestered in nerve endings, the
largest proportions being encountered in lenticular, caudate, and medullary
nuclei. 25 In the rat brain, the synaptosomal fractions of striatum, cerebral cor-
tex, and cerebellum contain the highest amounts of taurine. 29 The subcellular
distribution in the retina is similar to that in the brain. 63