Prevention of atherosclerotic lesion development in mice by taurine

The antiatherosclerotic effects of taurine were evaluated in two murine mod els. in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet, 6-month treatment with taurine d ecreased serum atherogenic low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-densi ty lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol by 44%. The same treatment increased anti atherogenic high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol by 25%, Hepatic chol esterol content was also decreased by taurine. Taurine improved the area of oil red O positive arterial lipid accumulation by 20%. Hepatic cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity a rate-limiting enzyme of bile acid synthesis from cholesterol, was doubled in taurine-treated mice, suggesting stimulat ion of cholesterol catabolism to bile acid as the cholesterol-lowering mech anism seen with taurine. Thus, taurine prevented the progression of atheros clerotic lesions and concomitantly improved the serum lipoprotein profile. In another murine model, in apolipoprotein-E-deficient mice fed regular cho w a 3-month treatment with taurine prevented accumulation of arterial lipid s by 31%, despite a significant increase in serum LDL and VLDL cholesterol levels. Serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in apolipopro tein-E-deficient mice were significantly higher than those in wild type mic e and treatment with taurine lowered serum TBARS level by 26%. Thus, taurin e prevents the development of atherosclerotic lesions and this antioxidativ e effect may play an important role in the antiatherosclerotic effect that is unrelated to serum cholesterol levels.