The cost of publication in Journal of Biomedical Science is borne by the National Science Council, Taiwan.
This article is part of the supplement: Taurine – a wonder molecule. Proceedings of the 17th International Taurine Conference
Research
Role of taurine in the central nervous system
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* Corresponding author: Jang-Yen Wu jwu@fau.edu
Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
Journal of Biomedical Science 2010, 17(Suppl 1):S1 doi:10.1186/1423-0127-17-S1-S1
Published: 24 August 2010Abstract
Taurine demonstrates multiple cellular functions including a central role as a neurotransmitter, as a trophic factor in CNS development, in maintaining the structural integrity of the membrane, in regulating calcium transport and homeostasis, as an osmolyte, as a neuromodulator and as a neuroprotectant. The neurotransmitter properties of taurine are illustrated by its ability to elicit neuronal hyperpolarization, the presence of specific taurine synthesizing enzyme and receptors in the CNS and the presence of a taurine transporter system. Taurine exerts its neuroprotective functions against the glutamate induced excitotoxicity by reducing the glutamate-induced increase of intracellular calcium level, by shifting the ratio of Bcl-2 and Bad ratio in favor of cell survival and by reducing the ER stress. The presence of metabotropic taurine receptors which are negatively coupled to phospholipase C (PLC) signaling pathway through inhibitory G proteins is proposed, and the evidence supporting this notion is also presented.