Murakami S, Kondo Y, Tomisawa K, Nagate T
Medicinal Research Laboratories, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Ohmiya, Japan.
Drugs Exp Clin Res. 1999;25(5):227-34.
The antiatherosclerotic effects of taurine were evaluated in two murine models. In C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet, 6-month treatment with taurine decreased serum atherogenic low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol by 44%. The same treatment increased antiatherogenic high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol by 25%. Hepatic cholesterol content was also decreased by taurine. Taurine improved the area of oil red O positive arterial lipid accumulation by 20%. Hepatic cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity, a rate-limiting enzyme of bile acid synthesis from cholesterol, was doubled in taurine-treated mice, suggesting stimulation of cholesterol catabolism to bile acid as the cholesterol-lowering mechanism seen with taurine. Thus, taurine prevented the progression of atherosclerotic lesions, and concomitantly improved the serum lipoprotein profile. In another murine model, in apolipoprotein-E-deficient mice fed regular chow, a 3-month treatment with taurine prevented accumulation of arterial lipids by 31%, despite a significant increase in serum LDL and VLDL cholesterol levels. Serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in apolipoprotein-E-deficient mice were significantly higher than those in wild type mice and treatment with taurine lowered serum TBARS level by 26%. Thus, taurine prevents the development of atherosclerotic lesions and this antioxidative effect may play an important role in the antiatherosclerotic effect that is unrelated to serum cholesterol levels.
在两种小鼠模型中评估了牛磺酸的抗动脉粥样硬化作用。在喂食高脂饮食的C57BL/6J小鼠中，用牛磺酸治疗6个月可使血清致动脉粥样硬化的低密度脂蛋白（LDL）和极低密度脂蛋白（VLDL）胆固醇降低44%。相同的治疗使抗动脉粥样硬化的高密度脂蛋白（HDL）胆固醇增加了25%。牛磺酸还降低了肝脏胆固醇含量。牛磺酸使油红O阳性动脉脂质积累面积改善了20%。肝脏胆固醇7α-羟化酶活性是胆固醇合成胆汁酸的限速酶，在牛磺酸处理的小鼠中增加了一倍，这表明牛磺酸降低胆固醇的机制是刺激胆固醇分解为胆汁酸。因此，牛磺酸可防止动脉粥样硬化病变的进展，并同时改善血清脂蛋白谱。在另一种小鼠模型中，在喂食普通饲料的载脂蛋白E缺陷小鼠中，用牛磺酸治疗3个月可使动脉脂质积累减少31%，尽管血清LDL和VLDL胆固醇水平显著升高。载脂蛋白E缺陷小鼠的血清硫代巴比妥酸反应性物质（TBARS）明显高于野生型小鼠，牛磺酸治疗可使血清TBARS水平降低26%。因此，牛磺酸可防止动脉粥样硬化病变的发展，这种抗氧化作用可能在与血清胆固醇水平无关的抗动脉粥样硬化作用中起重要作用。
