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Oxidative stress improvement is associated with increased levels of taurine in CKD patients undergoing lipid-lowering therapy

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Abstract

Lipid-lowering therapy has been reported to reduce several oxidative stress (OS) markers in hypercholesterolemia. Since OS is frequently associated with renal dysfunction, we aimed to investigate the effect of hypolipidemic drugs on oxidative stress and plasma taurine (Tau), a sulfur amino acid with a marked antioxidant effect, in chronic kidney disease (CKD). We enrolled 30 CKD randomized to receive three different hypolipidemic regimens for 12 months: simvastatin alone (40 mg/day) or ezetimibe/simvastatin combined therapy (10/20 or 10/40 mg/day). Low molecular weight (LMW) thiols including homocysteine, cysteine, cysteinylglycine, glutathione, and glutamylcysteine in their reduced and total form and oxidative stress indices as malondialdehyde (MDA) and allantoin/uric acid (All/UA) ratio were also evaluated. Tau concentration significantly increased throughout the therapy. The rise of taurine was more striking for the group with the concomitant administration of ezetimibe/simvastatin 10/40 mg/day (+31.6% after 1 year of therapy). A significant decrease of both MDA and All/UA ratio was observed during therapy for all patients (−19% for both MDA and All/UA ratio) with a more pronounced effect in patients treated with ezetimibe/simvastatin 10/40 mg/day (−26% for MDA and −28% for All/UA ratio). Besides, an increase of thiols reduced forms was found (+20.7% of LMW thiols redox status) with a greater effect in subjects treated with ezetimibe/simvastatin 10/40 mg/day (+24.7%). Moreover, we demonstrated that oxidative stress improvement during therapy was correlated with increased taurine levels. We hypothesize that taurine may be responsible for the oxidative stress improvement observed during lipid-lowering treatment through the reduction of superoxide anion production at the respiratory chain activity level.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the “Fondazione Banco di Sardegna, Sassari, Italy” and by the “Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca” Italy. Angelo Zinellu was supported by Regione Autonoma della Sardegna “Ricerca cofinanziata PROGRAMMA OPERATIVO FSE SARDEGNA 2007-2013–L.R.7/2007–Promozione della ricerca scientifica e dell’innovazione tecnologica in Sardegna”. The manuscript language revision by Mrs Maria Antonietta Meloni is greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Porto Conte Ricerche Srl, Tramariglio, Alghero, Sassari, Italy

    Angelo Zinellu

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Centre of Excellence for Biotechnology Development and Biodiversity Research, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/B, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Angelo Zinellu, Salvatore Sotgia, Luca Deiana & Ciriaco Carru

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy

    Giacomina Loriga & Andrea Ercole Satta

  4. National Laboratory of the National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, Osilo, Italy

    Ciriaco Carru

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  1. Angelo Zinellu
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  2. Salvatore Sotgia
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  3. Giacomina Loriga
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  4. Luca Deiana
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  6. Ciriaco Carru
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Correspondence to Angelo Zinellu or Ciriaco Carru.

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Zinellu, A., Sotgia, S., Loriga, G. et al. Oxidative stress improvement is associated with increased levels of taurine in CKD patients undergoing lipid-lowering therapy. Amino Acids 43, 1499–1507 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-012-1223-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-012-1223-0

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