In a variety of mammalian species it has been established that taurine
is a necessary component of the visual system, however, the exact mec
hanism(s) as to the function of taurine is(are) elusive. Additionally,
taurine is speculated to be a membrane stabilizer by interacting with
phospholipids and a regulator of protein phosphorylation. Therefore t
he inhibition by taurine and taurine analogues of the phosphorylation
of an similar to 20kDa protein present in the mitochondrial fraction o
f the rat retina has been investigated using computational methods. Co
rrelations between molecular weight, molecular volume, and calculated
pKa values vs. IC50 values are reported. These data appear to support
the hypotheses according to Lombardini and Props that the inhibition o
f the phosphorylation of an similar to 20kDa protein by taurine and ta
urine analogues is dependent on (i) the critical distance between the
nitrogen and sulfur atoms in the taurine moiety (S-C-C-N) of the analo
gue; (ii) the environment of the nitrogen atom in the taurine analogue
(saturated ring vs. unsaturated ring); and (iii) the placement of bot
h the sulfur and nitrogen atoms not being present simultaneously in th
e ring structure. Using computational methods we present results that
support hypotheses (i) and (ii).