Urinary Taurine Excretion Research Articles

Effect of vitamin D deficiency on aminoaciduria and intestinal transport of amino acids in the rat.

Generalized hyperaminoaciduria and hyperphosphaturia are associated with human vitamin D deficiency rickets and the effect has been reproduced in animals. The basis for the renal transport impairment was attributed to secondary hyperparathyroidism resulting from hypocalcemia.In this study we attempted over a 16-week period to induce hyperaminoaciduria in Holtzman rats with vitamin D deficient diets of varying calcium content (0.4% and 0.04%) so as to investigate the possibility of a concomitant defect in intestinal transport of amino acids. Despite signs of secondary hyperparathyroidism, generalized hyperaminoaciduria was not in evidence in any of the groups. However, increased urinary excretion of lysine and taurine was demonstrated in rats fed a low calcium diet without vitamin D (LCa−D). The same observation was also made for taurine in rats deprived of vitamin D and on a normal calcium diet (NCa−D) and in animals fed a low calcium diet with vitamin D (LCa+D). The results failed to show any effect of vitamin D deficiency, hypocalcemia, or secondary hyperparathyroidism on the intestinal transport of lysine, alanine, and cycloleucine.

Familial “mitochondrial” myopathy: A myopathy associated with disordered oxidative metabolism in muscle fibres Part 1. Clinical, electrophysiological and pathological findings

This report concerns a family, 6 members of which were known to have a progressive muscle disease, 5 of them with the pattern of muscle involvement regarded as diagnostic of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Two other members were known to have muscle weakness of probably the same type. In addition 1 case was found with early signs of a proximal muscle weakness, and in 3 others the serum creatine kinase activity was raised; they were considered sub-clinical cases. The age of symptomatic onset ranged widely from 6 to 50 years, and the rate of progression was slow. Light microscopic study of skeletal muscle from 2 cases superficially showed a chronic myopathic picture with moderate continuing activity. Trichrome stains show the accumulation of granules in segments in many fibres. Histochemical studies showed a gross accumulation of mitochondrial activity in many fibres, while neutral lipid accumulation occurred less commonly. Ultrastructurally there was a wide range of mitochondrial change, ranging from abnormal mitochondria in otherwise normal fibres, to total replacement of a fibre with abnormal mitochondria. Many were huge, ranging up to 3 μ in diameter, with a variety of abnormality of cristae and paracrystalline “parking lot” inclusions. These changes were similar to those previously described in “mitochondrial” myopathies. Oxidative phosphorylation was poorly coupled in the mitochondria in the present family. A liver biopsy from 1 patient had numerous lipid droplets in the parenchymal cells but normal mitochondria. Several but not all the affected cases had grossly increased urinary excretion of taurine. Though similar mitochondrial changes have been reported in a variety of disorders of skeletal muscle, their extensive nature in this family, and their presence to a marked degree in the muscle of 1 sub-clinical case, prompted the conclusion that the mitochondrial abnormality was primary. The inheritance of the condition was compatible with an autosomal dominant mode, but only maternal line transmission was present. The possibility of cytoplasmic inheritance, in relationship to current concepts of mitochondrial origin and genetics, is discussed. The nosological position of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is also considered.

The Origin of Urinary Taurine Excretion during Chronic Radiation Injury

Increased urinary taurine levels were observed in dogs that had a chronic lymphopenia for 2 1/2 to 3 years after inhaling ${}^{239}{\rm PuO}_{2}$ aerosols. A correlation betwee...

The relationship between urinary taurine excretion and the intake of protein-rich foods

The relationship between urinary taurine excretion and the intake of protein-rich foods

Factors Influencing Urinary Taurine Excretion by Normal and Mongoloid Subjects

The effect of a variety of experimental conditions on urinary taurine excretion by normal and mongoloid subjects was examined. Measurement of taurine was by column chromatography. Habitually “high” and “low” excretors were demonstrably present in both populations. In normal subjects taurine excretion was increased by the ingestion of sulfur amino acid-rich protein, shellfish, cysteamine, hypotaurine, or prednisone; cysteine sulfinic acid and vitamin B6 had no effect; cysteic acid and cysteine had little, if any, effect. While under a taurine load of 4 mg/kg body weight/day, a roughly 3-day periodicity in taurine excretion was noted in both normal and mongoloid subjects. Six weeks of vitamin B6 administration did not correct the subnormal excretion of taurine by mongoloids. Renal tubular reabsorption of taurine appears to be greater in mongoloid low excretors than in high excretors. No correlation between serum and urine taurine values was found. Fasting serum taurine levels varied more widely than had been expected, both intra- and inter-individual, and there is a tendency toward bimodality of these data.

Studies on the Significance of Taurine in Radiation Injury

In this experiment, the changes in the urinary excretion of taurine were shown in mice irradiated with a dose producing 80% mortality. The greatest increase in taurine occurred on the first day aft...

Effect of Isoniazid on the Urinary Excretion of Taurine by Men

Eight young men were maintained with a diet low in vitamin B6 for 2 months during which the taurine content of the urine was determined. Four of them were administered isoniazid (INH) (mean, 10 mg/kg/day) for the first month. Two of the 4 control subjects excreted less taurine at the end of 2 months than at the beginning. Additional signs of depletion were observed in one of them, subject M. The variability of taurine values was so large that depletion of the vitamin B6 stores of subject M can only be considered as a possibility. Either three of these subjects had not been given a low vitamin B6 diet long enough to deplete their stores or a vitamin B6 deficiency did not cause a decrease in urinary taurine in these subjects. The urinary taurine of the 4 men administered INH increased and remained above the starting values most of the time, even after the termination of INH treatment. The urinary taurine values for 2 of the 4 men responded much more rapidly to INH treatment than those of the other two. The lymphocyte counts in the blood of subject M and of the subjects treated with INH decreased.

Urinary excretion of taurine and creatine in radioprotected animals.

SummaryAdministration of two radio-protectors (AET and serotonine) and two monoaminooxydase inhibitors (marsilid and catron) leads to an increase in excretion of taurine and creatine rats. This increase is similar to that produced by x-irradiation. Radioprotectors and MAO inhibitors given together with x-irradiation produce a more marked response than either treatment alone, but this response is less than the sum of the individual effects. An attempt to explain this observation has been made.

Effect of Age, Vitamin B6 Deficiency, Isoniazid and Deoxypyridoxine on the Urinary Taurine of the Rat

The object of the present study was to find the effects of isoniazid (INH) and deoxypyridoxine (DOP) as well as a vitamin B6 deficiency on urinary taurine excretion. Groups of male rats 38 to 47 days of age were fed 5 diets: adequate in vitamin B6, adequate in vitamin B6 with INH added, deficient in vitamin B6, and deficient in vitamin B6 with INH or DOP added. The urinary taurine of male rats fed adequate vitamin B6 remained at about 2 mg/100 g body weight/day up to 50 to 55 days of age, then increased rapidly to about 7 mg at 75 to 95 days of age. The urinary taurine of rats fed diets deficient in vitamin B6 remained at 1 to 2 mg over a 7-week period. The urinary taurine of rats fed diets adequate in vitamin B6 plus INH and of those fed diets inadequate in vitamin B6 plus DOP was significantly higher than that of the controls; the taurine also tended to be higher when rats were fed vitamin B6-deficient diets plus INH. The results are contrary to expectation in view of the known inhibitory effects of the 2 compounds on vitamin B6.

Sur l'origine de la taurine urinaire excrétée par le rat soumis à une irradiation par le 60 Co. I

Rats exposed to ionizing radiation increase their urinary excretion of taurine. By using rats whose taurine pools are in isotopic equilibrium, it has been shown that the taurine excreted after irradiation originates from a pre-existing pool, whose specific radioactivity is equal or very close to that of the pools with a rapid turnover rate. This pool of taurine exists in animals deficient in pyridoxal phosphate. When endogenous taurine biosynthesis is sufficiently lowered by pyridoxal phosphate deficiency, the excess urinary excretion following irradiation is either abolished or greatly reduced. This reduction is attributed to the preferential utilization of taurine by extra renal tissues in such pyridoxine deficient animals. The competition between kidney reabsorption of other reactions extracting taurine from the plasma is the reason for the peculiar behaviour of such deficient rats.

Taurine Excretion and Intelligence in Mongolism.

SummarySignificant positive associations were found between urinary taurine excretion and 2 measures of adaptive behavior, cottage placement and I.Q. scores. The correlation ratio between cottage placement and taurine excretion was Eyx = .41. I.Q. score regressed on taurine excretion yielded a coefficient of .32. Both associations are significant at the 5% level.

Modification of Postirradiation Taurine Excretion by Cysteine Administration

Elevated urinary excretion of taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) by the irradiated rat has been observed by several investigators (1-4). The extent of elevation appears to be dependent on the radiation exposure in the sublethal dose range (3-5), although the dose required to produce the maximum response varies among laboratories. The duration of elevation is about three days, with the maximum occurring during the first 24 hours. Schram (6) and Soupart (7) have shown that the intracellular preformed taurine is the probable source of the urinary excess. Watson (8) suggested that loss of taurine from lymphoid tissue could account for postirradiation hypertaurinuria. The present investigation deals with the possibility that postirradiation hypertaurinuria may be modified by the administration of a radioprotectant drug prior to exposure. Aebi et al. (3) failed to observe additivity of the taurine-producing effects of cysteamine and radiation when animals were irradiated after cysteamine administration. They favored the interpretation that cysteamine treatment prevented tissue damage which would otherwise contribute toward elevating urinary taurine. It was not possible in their study, however, to determine which treatment was reduced in effectiveness when they were combined.3

The urinary excretion of free taurine in acute and chronic disease, following surgical trauma, and in patients with acute alcoholism

Summary o.1.In 40 studies carried out in 16 normal adult males the 24 hour urine taurine excretion was found to lie between 58 and 208 mg. with occasional variations in the same individuals of as much as 80 per cent. The rate of excretion was not found to be appreciably influenced by the intake of fluid. In multiple studies in three normal men high calorie, high protein diets were found to increase the output of taurine an average of 24 per cent. Low protein diets had the opposite effect. 2.Following surgical operations an abrupt elevation in the excretion of taurine was observed. Taurine excretion fell back to normal levels within several days after surgery unless complications in the postoperative course supervened. Taurine excretion was found to parallel the urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. 3.Taurinuria was found in patients admitted with acute alcoholism and the elevated taurine excretion was found to persist from five to ten days after admission to the hospital. 4.Adrenal steroid therapy, miscellaneous acute infections and miscellaneous diseases of the liver and bilary tree were also found to be frequently associated with an increased output of taurine in the urine. 5.Chronic diseases of the types observed were found to have little or no effect on the excretion of taurine as long as the nutritional status of the patient was constant and as long as the patient was receiving an adequate diet. 6.The technique for the quantitative determination of urinary taurine described by Pentz et al. has been modified by the substitution of a borate buffer, pH 9.6, for 8% sodium bicarbonate. Summary o.1.In 40 studies carried out in 16 normal adult males the 24 hour urine taurine excretion was found to lie between 58 and 208 mg. with occasional variations in the same individuals of as much as 80 per cent. The rate of excretion was not found to be appreciably influenced by the intake of fluid. In multiple studies in three normal men high calorie, high protein diets were found to increase the output of taurine an average of 24 per cent. Low protein diets had the opposite effect. 2.Following surgical operations an abrupt elevation in the excretion of taurine was observed. Taurine excretion fell back to normal levels within several days after surgery unless complications in the postoperative course supervened. Taurine excretion was found to parallel the urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. 3.Taurinuria was found in patients admitted with acute alcoholism and the elevated taurine excretion was found to persist from five to ten days after admission to the hospital. 4.Adrenal steroid therapy, miscellaneous acute infections and miscellaneous diseases of the liver and bilary tree were also found to be frequently associated with an increased output of taurine in the urine. 5.Chronic diseases of the types observed were found to have little or no effect on the excretion of taurine as long as the nutritional status of the patient was constant and as long as the patient was receiving an adequate diet. 6.The technique for the quantitative determination of urinary taurine described by Pentz et al. has been modified by the substitution of a borate buffer, pH 9.6, for 8% sodium bicarbonate.

TAURINE EXCRETION FOLLOWING DRUG-INDUCED MUSCLE NECROSIS AND X-IRRADIATION.

SummarySimilar increases in urinary excretion of taurine follow drug-induced muscle necrosis and x-irradiation. The excess taurinuria appears to be unrelated to altered renal function but is probably a non-specific manifestation of increased tissue catabolism.

Family studies of urinary p‐aminoisobutyric acid excretion together with an examination of the urinary excretion levels of glycine, alanine, taurine, and glutamine amongst Chinese in Singapore

Summary1. An investigation was carried out of the urinary excretion of β‐aminoisobutyric acid, glycine, alanine, taurine and glutamine amongst 109 Chinese living in Singapore.2. The frequency distribution histograms of excretion levels for the various amino acids indicated a well denned ‘high’ peak for β‐aminoisobutyric acid, whereas the other amino acids gave essentially unimodal distributions. The distribution histogram for β‐aminoisobutyric acid did not appear to be a bimodal one, as there was a fairly strong indication of a middle peak together with one or more lower ones.3. Subjects excreting 0–56 m‐moles of β‐aminoisobutyric acid/g. creatinine or more were considered to be ‘high’ excretors. The incidence of such subjects in the population sample taken was found to be 41‐3 %.4. An examination of the family data with respect to the segregation ratios for ‘low’ and ‘high’ excretors produced evidence in favour of the hypothesis that ‘high’ excretion of β‐amino‐isobutyric acid is determined by a single autosomal recessive gene (P > 0–3).A special acknowledgement is due to Lim Yen Heng for his technical assistance. This work embodies part of a thesis submitted by the author for the degree of Ph.D. in the University of Malaya.

Effect of Cysteine and Pyridoxine on Taurine Excretion of Male Rats.

SummaryFeeding cysteine alone or with pyridoxine greatly increased urinary excretion of taurine in young or adult rats fed adequate amounts of pyridoxine. In Vit. B6-deficient young rats, these treatments caused only a slight increase in taurine excretion. The results indicated that the relative increase in urinary excretion of taurine after an oral dose of cysteine or cysteine and pyridoxine might be used as an index of Vit. B6 nutrition.

Urinary Taurine Excretion and the Partition of Sulfur in Four Species of Mammals after Whole-Body X-Irradiation

Four species of mammals were exposed to physically equivalent doses of whole-body x irradiation. Taurine and total sulfur were measured for several days prior and for at least seven days post-irradiation. Taurine excretion after irradiation was found to be a species dependent phenomena and correlated with total sulfur changes only in the rat. (auth)

Effect of colchicine on taurine excretion.

SummaryColchicine in doses of 1.6, 3.2 and 6.4 mg/kg increases urinary taurine excretion in rats, but doses of 6.4 mg/kg are less effective than the two lower doses. Preformed tissue taurine does not appear to be the source of the extra urinary taurine excreted after colchicine administration.

The Effect of Multiple Exposures and Partial-Body X-Irradiation on Urinary Taurine Excretion by the Rat

The effect of multiple dosages, shielding and organectomies on the hourly and daily excretion of taurine following x irradiation was studied in the fasting rat. Data are tabulated and presented graphically. (auth)

FACTORS INFLUENCING TAURINE EXCRETION IN HUMAN SUBJECTS*

The average 24-hour urinary excretion of taurine in a normal male during a period of ordinary dietary intake was 161 mg. During a period of high protein intake, the daily excretion of taurine (193 mg.) was not significantly affected. Normal values in 20 adult women and in 20 preadolescent children of both sexes are also presented. In 6 patients with known or suspected adrenocortical disorders, taurine excretion was sharply increased following treatment with ACTH or 9α-fluorohydrocortisone. No correlation between taurine excretion and chronic disease was found. The data suggest that there is a relationship between adrenocortical function and taurine excretion.