Redmond H P, Stapleton P P, Neary P, Bouchier-Hayes D
Department of Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Ireland.
Nutrition. 1998 Jul-Aug;14(7-8):599-604. doi: 10.1016/s0899-9007(98)00097-5.
Taurine is a sulfonated beta amino acid derived from methionine and cysteine metabolism. It is present in high concentrations in most tissues and in particular in proinflammatory cells such as polymorphonuclear phagocytes. Initial investigation into the multifaceted properties of this non-toxic physiologic amino acid revealed a link between retinal dysfunction and dietary deficiency. Since then a role for this amino acid has been found in membrane stabilization, bile salt formation, antioxidation, calcium homeostasis, growth modulation, and osmoregulation. Our own group has demonstrated a key role for taurine in modulation of apoptosis in a variety of cell types. This review summarizes our current knowledge of taurine in nutrition, host proinflammatory cell homeostasis, therapeutic applications, and its potential immunoregulatory properties. It is our belief that taurine, similar to arginine and glutamine, is now more than worthy of critical clinical analysis.
牛磺酸是一种由蛋氨酸和半胱氨酸代谢产生的磺化β氨基酸。它在大多数组织中浓度较高，尤其是在诸如多形核吞噬细胞等促炎细胞中。对这种无毒生理氨基酸多方面特性的初步研究揭示了视网膜功能障碍与饮食缺乏之间的联系。从那时起，已发现这种氨基酸在膜稳定、胆汁盐形成、抗氧化、钙稳态、生长调节和渗透调节中发挥作用。我们自己的研究小组已经证明牛磺酸在多种细胞类型的细胞凋亡调节中起关键作用。本综述总结了我们目前对牛磺酸在营养、宿主促炎细胞稳态、治疗应用及其潜在免疫调节特性方面的认识。我们相信，与精氨酸和谷氨酰胺类似，牛磺酸现在非常值得进行严格的临床分析。
