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Taurine Transporter (taurine + transporter)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences100%

Selected Abstracts

The taurine transporter: mechanisms of regulation

ACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 1-2 2006
X. Han
Abstract Taurine transport undergoes an adaptive response to changes in taurine availability. Unlike most amino acids, taurine is not metabolized or incorporated into protein but remains free in the intracellular water. Most amino acids are reabsorbed at rates of 98,99%, but reabsorption of taurine may range from 40% to 99.5%. Factors that influence taurine accumulation include ionic environment, electrochemical charge, and post-translational and transcriptional factors. Among these are protein kinase C (PKC) activation and transactivation or repression by proto-oncogenes such as WT1, c-Jun, c-Myb and p53. Renal adaptive regulation of the taurine transporter (TauT) was studied in vivo and in vitro. Site-directed mutagenesis and the oocyte expression system were used to study post-translational regulation of the TauT by PKC. Reporter genes and Northern and Western blots were used to study transcriptional regulation of the taurine transporter gene (TauT). We demonstrated that (i) the body pool of taurine is controlled through renal adaptive regulation of TauT in response to taurine availability; (ii) ionic environment, electrochemical charge, pH, and developmental ontogeny influence renal taurine accumulation; (iii) the fourth segment of TauT is involved in the gating of taurine across the cell membrane, which is controlled by PKC phosphorylation of serine 322 at the post-translational level; (iv) expression of TauT is repressed by the p53 tumour suppressor gene and is transactivated by proto-oncogenes such as WT1, c-Jun, and c-Myb; and (v) over-expression of TauT protects renal cells from cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. [source]

Regulation of the human taurine transporter by TNF-, and an anti-inflammatory function of taurine in human intestinal Caco-2, cells

BIOFACTORS, Issue 1-4 2004
Tetsunosuke Mochizuki
Abstract We investigated whether or not the inflammatory cytokines affect the activity of taurine transporter (TAUT) in human intestinal Caco-2, cells. Among the cytokines, tumor necrosis factor ,(TNF-,) markedly augmented the TAUT activity. A kinetic analysis of the TAUT activity in TNF-,-treated Caco-2 cells suggests that this up-regulation was associated with both an increase in the amount of TAUT and an increase in its affinity. Considering these results, it seems that intracellular taurine plays a role in the intestinal epithelial cells under such an inflammatory condition as that caused by an excessive amount of TNF-, secreted by macrophages. To verify this hypothesis, we examined the effect of taurine on inflamed intestinal cells by using a co-culture system of Caco-2 cells with human macrophage-like THP-1 cells. The result shows that taurine significantly repressed the damage to Caco-2 cells caused by TNF-, secreted by THP-1 cells. Thus, taurine may be a useful substance against intestinal inflammation. [source]

Cortisol and IGF-1 synergistically up-regulate taurine transport by the rat skeletal muscle cell line, L6

BIOFACTORS, Issue 1-4 2004
Sung-Hee Park
Abstract This study was undertaken to evaluate effects of exercise-induced hormones, cortisol, IGF-1, and ,-endorphin, on the regulation of taurine transport activity in rat skeletal myoblasts, L6 cells. Challenge of L6 cells with cortisol (100 nM) for 24 hrs resulted in a 165% increase in taurine transport activity, 220% increase in Vmax of the taurine transporter, and 55% increase in taurine transporter/ ,-actin mRNA level compared with untreated control cells. Neither IGF-1 (1,100 nM) nor ,-endorphin (1,20 nM), added in the incubation medium separately for 24 hrs, affected taurine uptake by L6 cells. However, when cells were co-treated with IGF-1 (10 nM) plus cortisol (100,nM), taurine transport activity (37% increase, p < 0.05), Vmax of the transporter (54%, p < 0.05), and taurine transporter/ ,-actin mRNA level were further increased compared to the value for cells treated with cortisol alone. These results suggest that taurine transport by skeletal muscle cells appear to be synergistically up-regulated during a prolonged exercise via elevated levels of cortisol and IGF-1 in muscle. [source]