effect of taurine on renal ischemia/reperfusion injury

• Published in: Amino acids 2007-04, Vol.32 (3), p.405-411
• Main Authors: Guz, G, Oz, E, Lortlar, N, Ulusu, N. N, Nurlu, N, Demirogullari, B, Omeroglu, S, Sert, S, Karasu, C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Animals; Antioxidants - administration & dosage; Biomarkers - blood; Creatinine; Glutathione; Injuries; Injury prevention; Ischemia; Kidney - metabolism; Kidney - pathology; Kidney Diseases - blood; Kidney Diseases - drug therapy; Kidney Diseases - pathology; Kidneys; Male; Malondialdehyde and glutathione; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reperfusion; Reperfusion Injury - blood; Reperfusion Injury - drug therapy; Reperfusion Injury - pathology; Rodents; Serums; taurine; Taurine - pharmacology
• ISSN: 0939-4451; 1438-2199
• DOI: 10.1007/s00726-006-0383-1

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is one of the most common causes of renal dysfunction. Taurine is an endogenous antioxidant and a membrane-stabilizing, intracellular, free beta-amino acid. It has been demonstrated to have protective effects against I/R injuries to tissues other than kidney. The aim of this study was to determine whether taurine has a beneficial role in renal I/R injury. Forty Wistar-Albino rats were allocated into four groups as follows: sham, taurine, I/R, and I/R + taurine. Taurine 7.5 mg/kg was given intra-peritoneally to rats in the groups taurine and I/R + taurine. Renal I/R was achieved by occluding the renal arteries bilaterally for 40 min, followed by 6 h of reperfusion. Immediately thereafter, blood was drawn and tissue samples were harvested to measure 1) serum levels of BUN and creatinine; 2) serum and/or tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6PD), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD) and glutathione reductase (GSH-red); 3) renal morphology; and 4) immunohistochemical staining for P-selectin. Taurine administration reduced I/R-induced increases in serum BUN and creatinine, and serum and tissue MDA levels (p < 0.05). Additionally, taurine lessened the reductions in serum and tissue glutathione levels secondary to I/R (p < 0.05). Taurine also attenuated histopathologic evidence of renal injury, and reduced I/R-induced P-selectin immunoreactivity (p < 0.05). Overall, then, taurine administration appears to reduce the injurious effects of I/R on kidney.