Acute intraperitoneal administration of taurine decreases the glycemia and reduces food intake in type 1 diabetic rats

Effect of taurine on glycaemic, lipid and inflammatory profile in individuals with type 2 diabetes: study protocol of a randomised trial

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia. Despite the efficacy of conventional pharmacotherapy, some individuals do not reach glycaemic goals and require adjuvant therapies. Taurine, a semi-essential amino acid, decreases blood glucose and cholesterol levels in rodents and humans. However, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has not been evaluated in randomised controlled trials after taurine treatment for more than 12 weeks. This study aims to evaluate the effect of taurine administration on glycaemic, lipid, inflammatory, anthropometric and dietary parameters in individuals with T2DM. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial will be conducted at the Clinical Research Center of a tertiary public hospital. Participants with T2DM (n 94) will be recruited and randomised to receive 3 g of taurine or placebo, twice/day, orally, for 12 weeks. Blood samples will be collected before and after 12 weeks of treatment, when HbA1c, fasting glucose, insulin, albuminuria, creatinine, total cholesterol and fractions, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, TNF-α, IL 1, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 13 will be evaluated. Anthropometric parameters and 24-hour food recall will also be evaluated. The study will evaluate the effect of taurine treatment on biochemical and anthropometric parameters in individuals with T2DM. These results will guide the decision-making to indicate taurine treatment as an adjunct in individuals with T2DM who have not reached their glycaemic goal.

Taurine Administration Counteracts Aging-Associated Impingement of Skeletal Muscle Regeneration by Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress

Sarcopenia, which occurs during aging, is characterized by the gradual loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, resulting in a functional decline in physical abilities. Several factors contribute to the onset of sarcopenia, including reduced regenerative capacity, chronic low-grade inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and increased oxidative stress, leading to the activation of catabolic pathways. Physical activity and adequate protein intake are considered effective strategies able to reduce the incidence and severity of sarcopenia by exerting beneficial effects in improving the muscular anabolic response during aging. Taurine is a non-essential amino acid that is highly expressed in mammalian tissues and, particularly, in skeletal muscle where it is involved in the regulation of biological processes and where it acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory factor. Here, we evaluated whether taurine administration in old mice counteracts the physiopathological effects of aging in skeletal muscle. We showed that, in injured muscle, taurine enhances the regenerative process by downregulating the inflammatory response and preserving muscle fiber integrity. Moreover, taurine attenuates ROS production in aged muscles by maintaining a proper cellular redox balance, acting as an antioxidant molecule. Although further studies are needed to better elucidate the molecular mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effect of taurine on skeletal muscle homeostasis, these data demonstrate that taurine administration ameliorates the microenvironment allowing an efficient regenerative process and attenuation of the catabolic pathways related to the onset of sarcopenia.

A systematic review of preclinical studies on the taurine role during diabetic nephropathy: focused on anti-oxidative, anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptotic effects

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most important and growing diseases globally and the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality in these patients. Taurine is an amino acid that has pleiotropic protective properties on some diseases. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of taurine in the treatment of diabetes-induced nephropathy. To achieve the aim of the present study, a comprehensive systematic search based on PRISMA guidelines has been conducted up to August 2021. A total of 382 articles were found in the electronic databases based on search keywords. After doing the screening, 14 articles were included in the present systematic review. The dated demonstrated elevation of oxidative stress, inflammatory and apoptotic pathways, and changes in other molecules' function plays an essential role in diabetes-induced renal tissue damage. Due to its multiple protective effects, taurine significantly prevented the activation of the pathways mentioned above and altered the function of molecules involved in these pathways, resulting in alleviating diabetic nephropathy. According to the obtained results, it was found that taurine can mitigate diabetes-induced nephropathy, mainly through its anti-oxidant activity, which is an essential factor in activating inflammation and apoptosis pathways.

The Effects of TRX Suspension Training Combined with Taurine Supplementation on Body Composition, Glycemic and Lipid Markers in Women with Type 2 Diabetes

Background: We aimed to investigate the effects of an 8-week total-body resistance exercise (TRX) suspension training intervention combined with taurine supplementation on body composition, blood glucose, and lipid markers in T2D females. Methods: Forty T2D middle-aged females (age: 53 ± 5 years, body mass = 84.3 ± 5.1 kg) were randomly assigned to four groups, TRX suspension training + placebo (TP; n = 10), TRX suspension training + taurine supplementation (TT; n = 10), taurine supplementation (T; n = 10), or control (C; n = 10). Body composition (body mass, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP)), blood glucose (fasting blood sugar (FBS)), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), Insulin, and Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and lipid markers (low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC)) were evaluated prior to and after interventions. Results: All three interventions significantly decreased body mass, BMI, and BFP with no changes between them for body mass and BMI; however, BFP changes in the TT group were significantly greater than all other groups. FBS was significantly reduced in TP and TT. Insulin concentrations’ decrement were significantly greater in all experimental groups compared to C; however, no between group differences were observed between TT, TP, and T. In regards to HOMA-IR, decreases in TT were significantly greater than all other groups TG, HbA1c, and LDL were reduced following all interventions. HDL values significantly increased only in the TT group, while TC significantly decreased in TP and TT groups. Changes in HbA1c, TG, HDL, and TC were significantly greater in the TT compared to all other groups. Conclusions: TRX training improved glycemic and lipid profiles, while taurine supplementation alone failed to show hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties. Notably, the synergic effects of TRX training and taurine supplementation were shown in HbA1c, HOMA-IR, TG, TC, HDL, and BFP changes. Our outcomes suggest that TRX training + taurine supplementation may be an effective adjuvant therapy in individuals with T2D.

Chronic Intake of Energy Drinks and Their Sugar Free Substitution Similarly Promotes Metabolic Syndrome

Energy drinks containing significant quantities of caffeine, taurine and sugar are increasingly consumed, particularly by adolescents and young adults. The putative effects of chronic ingestion of either standard energy drink, Mother^TM (ED), or its sugar-free formulation (sfED) on metabolic syndrome were determined in wild-type C57BL/6J mice, in comparison to a soft drink, Coca-Cola (SD), a Western-styled diet enriched in saturated fatty acids (SFA), and a combination of SFA + ED. Following 13 weeks of intervention, mice treated with ED were hyperglycaemic and hypertriglyceridaemic, indicating higher triglyceride glucose index, which was similar to the mice maintained on SD. Surprisingly, the mice maintained on sfED also showed signs of insulin resistance with hyperglycaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, and greater triglyceride glucose index, comparable to the ED group mice. In addition, the ED mice had greater adiposity primarily due to the increase in white adipose tissue, although the body weight was comparable to the control mice receiving only water. The mice maintained on SFA diet exhibited significantly greater weight gain, body fat, cholesterol and insulin, whilst blood glucose and triglyceride concentrations remained comparable to the control mice. Collectively, these data suggest that the consumption of both standard and sugar-free forms of energy drinks induces metabolic syndrome, particularly insulin resistance.

The effects of taurine supplementation on glycemic control and serum lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Previous studies have suggested that taurine has hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects on experimental diabetic models. Therefore, this clinical trial was designed to explore the impacts of taurine supplementation on glycemic control and lipid profile in the patients with T2DM. This study was conducted on 45 patients with T2DM in Tabriz Sheikhor-raees Polyclinic and Imam-Reza Hospital Endocrine Center. Subjects were randomly divided into taurine and placebo groups. Accordingly, the taurine group (n = 23) received taurine 3000 mg/daily and the placebo group (n = 22) took crystalline microcellulose/daily for the duration of 8 weeks. At baseline and after the trial completion, fasting blood samples were obtained from the patients to assess the glycemic indicators and lipid profile. Independent t test, paired t test, Pearson's correlation, and analysis of covariance was used for analysis. At the end of the study, levels of FBS (p = 0.01), insulin (p = 0.01), HOMA-IR (p = 0.003), TC (p = 0.013), and LDL-C (p = 0.041) significantly decreased in the taurine group compared to the placebo group. In addition, there was no significant changes in HbA1c, triglyceride, HDL-C, anthropometric indicators or dietary intakes by passing 8 weeks from the intervention. In conclusion, the findings of the current study indicated that taurine supplementation (3000 mg/day) for 8 weeks could improve the glycemic indexes and lipid profiles including TC and LDL-C in the patients with T2DM.

Taurine-mediated browning of white adipose tissue is involved in its anti-obesity effect in mice

Taurine, a nonprotein amino acid, is widely distributed in almost all animal tissues. Ingestion of taurine helps to improve obesity and its related metabolic disorders. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the protective role of taurine against obesity is not completely understood. In this study, it was found that intraperitoneal treatment of mice with taurine alleviated high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, improved insulin sensitivity, and increased energy expenditure and adaptive thermogenesis of the mice. Meanwhile, administration of the mice with taurine markedly induced the browning of inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT) with significantly elevated expression of PGC1α, UCP1, and other thermogenic genes in iWAT. In vitro studies indicated that taurine also induced the development of brown-like adipocytes in C3H10T1/2 white adipocytes. Knockdown of PGC1α blunted the role of taurine in promoting the brown-like adipocyte phenotypes in C3H10T1/2 cells. Moreover, taurine treatment enhanced AMPK phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo, and knockdown of AMPKα1 prevented taurine-mediated induction of PGC1α in C3H10T1/2 cells. Consistently, specific knockdown of PGC1α in iWAT of the HFD-fed mice inhibited taurine-induced browning of iWAT, with the role of taurine in the enhancement of adaptive thermogenesis, the prevention of obesity, and the improvement of insulin sensitivity being partially impaired. These results reveal a functional role of taurine in facilitating the browning of white adipose tissue, which depends on the induction of PGC1α. Our studies also suggest a potential mechanism for the protective role of taurine against obesity, which involves taurine-mediated browning of white adipose tissue.

Leptin's hunger-suppressing effects are mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in rodents

Leptin informs the brain about sufficiency of fuel stores. When insufficient, leptin levels fall, triggering compensatory increases in appetite. Falling leptin is first sensed by hypothalamic neurons, which then initiate adaptive responses. With regard to hunger, it is thought that leptin-sensing neurons work entirely via circuits within the central nervous system (CNS). Very unexpectedly, however, we now show this is not the case. Instead, stimulation of hunger requires an intervening endocrine step, namely activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Increased corticosterone then activates AgRP neurons to fully increase hunger. Importantly, this is true for 2 forms of low leptin-induced hunger, fasting and poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia, which also stimulates hunger by activating CNS neurons, albeit independently of leptin, similarly recruits and requires this pathway by which HPA axis activity stimulates AgRP neurons. Thus, HPA axis regulation of AgRP neurons is a previously underappreciated step in homeostatic regulation of hunger.