Taurine modulates protein turnover in several tissues of meagre juveniles

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the modulatory effect of dietary taurine supplementation on protein turnover of meagre juveniles fed semi-purified plant-based diets. For that purpose, fish (3.2 ± 0.2 g) were fed with five isoproteic (61.2%), isolipidic (16.6%) and isoenergetic (21.9 kJ g−1) experimental diets supplemented with 0.5% (Tau0.5), 1% (Tau1), 1.5% (Tau1.5) and 2% (Tau2) taurine or not (Tau0) for 38 days. The resulting growth parameters, protein expression levels and the activity of several proteolytic markers involved in the two major degradation pathways in vertebrates (autophagy-lysosomal and ubiquitin-proteasome) were assessed in the liver, intestine and white muscle of meagre. Increasing dietary taurine concentrations promoted fish growth, feed utilization and whole-body protein, lipid and energy contents. Dietary taurine seemed to modulate the activity of cathepsins D and B in white muscle and cathepsin L in the liver. Although, no significant effects were observed on proteasome activity, 1% dietary taurine supplementation decreased the expression of the Psmb4 proteasome subunit in the liver of fish when compared to lower taurine concentrations. No taurine effects were detected on the proteolytic markers analysed in the intestine of meagre. Hsp70 expression levels were also not affected by any of the experimental dietary taurine concentrations. Overall, experimental diet Tau2 promoted the highest growth rate which can be explained by a significant decrease in protein degradation in the liver and white muscle preferentially via the autophagy-lysosomal pathway (cathepsins) over the ubiquitin-proteasome route.