Postnatal taurine deficiency in the kitten results in a persistence of the cerebellar external granule cell layer: correction by taurine feeding.

Dietary deprivation of taurine in pregnant cats from approximately 1 week prior to giving birth is sufficient to reduce substantially the taurine concentration in feline milk but does not result in any abnormalities in kittens at birth. Kittens nursing on this low taurine milk have a lower growth rate than normal, have lower tissue taurine concentrations, and 8 weeks after birth have a persistence of cells in the cerebellar external granule cell layer. Mitotic figures are present also, indicating that cell division is occurring still, an event which normally is completed 3-4 weeks after birth. Daily oral supplementation with 40 mumoles taurine increases the growth rate almost to the level of normally nurtured kittens and results in normal tissue taurine concentrations and apparently normal migration of cells in the cerebellum. These findings indicate that nutritional taurine supplied in the milk is involved in the normal ontogeny of the cerebellum and that a taurine deficiency at this stage of development results in a maturational delay.