Role of taurine on the actions of alcohol against systemic and cardiac biochemical changes in the diabetic rat.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine in the diabetic rat if light alcohol (EtOH) intake and taurine (TAU) can protect the heart against oxidative stress, inflammation and energy imbalance, and if a concurrent treatment is more effective than monotherapy. The experiments were conducted with male Sprague-Dawley rats, 310–340 g, n = 6, made diabetic on day 15 with a 60 mg/kg intraperitoneal dose of streptozotocin. A 5 % EtOH (v/v) solution was available freely, in place of drinking water, from days 1 to 28. TAU, 2.4 mM/kg/day, was given orally, by itself or alongside EtOH. Animals were sacrificed on day 29 to collect blood and heart samples. Plasma samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin, fatty acids, and indices of dyslipidemia, heart damage and oxidative stress. Heart homogenates were used to assess oxidative stress, changes in ATP/ADP ratios, and concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines. Results from diabetic rats were consistent with the occurrence of hyperglycemia, hypoinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, cardiac injury, increased lipolysis, oxidative stress, inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Without exceptions, a preconditioning with either EtOH or TAU led to a significant attenuation of the alterations subsequently caused by diabetes, with TAU generally providing a somewhat greater effect than EtOH. Furthermore, a combined treatment with these two agents enhanced the individual protective effects to varying extents. The present results strongly suggest that both EtOH and TAU can effectively limit diabetes metabolic and oxidative alterations associated with the heart, especially when in the presence of each other.