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Taurine in the Cerebellum Contact Information

Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders

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Abstract

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a sulfur-containing amino acid. It is one of the most abundant free amino acids in many excitable tissues, including the brain and skeletal and cardiac muscles. Physiological actions of taurine are widespread and include regulation of plasma glucose levels, bile acid conjugation, detoxification, membrane stabilization, blood pressure regulation, osmoregulation, neurotransmission, and modulation of mitochondria function and cellular calcium levels. Taurine plays an important role in modulating glutamate and GABA neurotransmission and prevents excitotoxicity in vitro primarily through modulation of intracellular calcium homeostasis. Taurine supplementation prevents age-dependent decline of cognitive functions. Because of the widespread actions of taurine, its levels are highly regulated through enzymatic biosynthesis or dietary intake. Furthermore, depletion of endogenous or dietary supplementation of exogenous taurine has been shown to induce widespread actions on multiple organs. Cysteine sulfonic acid decarboxylase (CSAD) was first identified in the liver and is thought to be the rate-limiting enzyme in taurine biosynthesis. CSAD mRNA is expressed in the brain in astrocytes. Homozygous knockout mice lacking CSAD (CSAD-KO) have very reduced taurine content and show severe functional histopathology in the visual system, skeletal system, heart, pancreas, and brain. Conversely, dietary supplementation of taurine results in significant health benefits acting through the same organ systems. Fluctuation of taurine bioavailability leads to changes in the expression levels of taurine transporters in neuronal plasma membranes, endothelial cells forming the blood-brain barrier, and proximal cells of the kidneys. This suggests a highly regulated mechanism for maintaining taurine homeostasis and organ systems function. This chapter discusses examples of how alterations in taurine levels directly affect the function of one organ system and through functional interaction and compensatory adaptation; these effects extend to another organ systems with focus on cerebellar function.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY, USA

    Abdeslem El Idrissi, Francoise Sidime & Salvatore Rotondo

  2. The Center for Developmental Neuroscience, College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY, USA

    Abdeslem El Idrissi, Francoise Sidime & Zaghloul Ahmed

  3. The Graduate Center, Program in Biology – Neurosciences, The City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Abdeslem El Idrissi & Zaghloul Ahmed

  4. Department of Physical Therapy/School of Health Sciences, College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY, USA

    Zaghloul Ahmed

Authors
  1. Abdeslem El Idrissi
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  2. Francoise Sidime
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  3. Salvatore Rotondo
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  4. Zaghloul Ahmed
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Correspondence to Abdeslem El Idrissi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bruxelles, Belgium

    Mario Manto

  2. Scripps Research Institute Dept. Neuropharmacology, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Donna Gruol

  3. Dept. Neurology, Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeremy Schmahmann

  4. Gunma University Dept. Integrative Physiology, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan

    Noriyuki Koibuchi

  5. Dept Pathology & Immunology & Neuro, Baylor College of Medicine Dept Pathology & Immunology & Neuro, Houston, TX, USA

    Roy Sillitoe

Section Editor information

  1. Molecular and Integrative Neuroscience Department (MIND), The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA

    Donna L. Gruol

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El Idrissi, A., Sidime, F., Rotondo, S., Ahmed, Z. (2019). Taurine in the Cerebellum Contact Information. In: Manto, M., Gruol, D., Schmahmann, J., Koibuchi, N., Sillitoe, R. (eds) Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97911-3_114-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97911-3_114-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-97911-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-97911-3

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  1. Latest

    Taurine in the Cerebellum
    Published:
    07 May 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97911-3_114-2

  2. Original

    Taurine in the Cerebellum Contact Information
    Published:
    21 February 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97911-3_114-1

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