A central mechanism of action for taurine: osmoregulation, bivalent cations, and excitation threshold.

A postulated zinc-taurine complex, with a zinc affinity intermediate between that for glutamic acid dehydrogenase and the calcium binding protein(s), provides an explanation for a series of seemingly unrelated biochemical and physiological effects of taurine. The proposed complex suggests a central mechanism for the action of taurine, such as a bicarbonate and pH dependent influence on calcium and zinc movements (and vice versa), the osmoregulatory role of taurine, and its effect on the excitation threshold.