Does Taurine Deficiency Accelerate Aging?

Aging is a change in physiological function that affects life on all scales, from the cellular level to the organ level. The cause of this change is still largely unknown. However, changes in concentrations of various molecules occur with aging.

In this regard, an interesting new study chemistry reported an association between the amino acid taurine and aging, and that taurine supplementation improved aging parameters in nematodes and rodents.

study: Taurine deficiency as a cause of aging. Image credit: DanijelaMaksimovic/Shutterstock.com

prologue

With the world’s population aging rapidly, it is likely that by 2050, one in six people will be over the age of 65. Despite life expectancy increasing, age-related declines in health can threaten quality of life and impose significant social and economic costs. support system.

As such, aging has received considerable scientific attention. Previous studies have identified several cellular markers of senescence, called senescence hallmarks.

These include genomic instability, mitochondrial dysfunction, stem cell depletion, loss of nutrient sensing control and accumulation of senescent cells.

Molecular parameters also show changes, but whether this is a cause or a consequence of aging is a matter of debate. One way to distinguish between these possibilities is the ability to reverse age-related changes by returning such molecules to their previous concentration and extend healthy lifespan.

Current research focused on taurine, one of the most abundant amino acids in eukaryotes. It is semi-essential, produced from cysteine ​​by enzymatic activity and absorbed from the diet.

Taurine deficiency in childhood leads to dysfunction of the central nervous system, muscle tissue and even eyes, all of which are associated with age-related changes. A decrease in taurine levels is seen in various tissues with age.

Conversely, young animals show improved organ function with taurine supplementation. Therefore, taurine deficiency may contribute to age-related exacerbations.

What did the study show?

Researchers found that in older animals of many species, blood taurine levels were reduced by more than 80% compared to younger levels.

In mouse models, taurine supplementation increased the lifespan of animals fed the same diet as controls by 18-25%. A similar lifespan extension was observed. Caenorhabditis elegansdepending on the dose.

However, no such effect was seen with yeast. This is probably due to differences in taurine metabolism between these two. Adding taurine to the diet of a mouse model successfully slowed the markers of aging.

Aged female mice supplemented with taurine slowed age-related weight gain but increased bone mass. Strength, coordination and endurance all improved. Additionally, taurine supplementation reduced anxiety and improved natural curiosity.

Improved glycemic control and intestinal transit time were also observed. Multiple immune-inflammatory parameters were also improved. In female rodents with osteoporosis and post-ovariectomy weight gain, taurine reversed these conditions.

As explained above, middle-aged male mice also showed improvements in multiple organ parameters and may have an extended healthy lifespan. However, the effect was greater in female mice, indicating a likely sex-specific mechanism of action of taurine.

Age-related reductions in taurine are correlated with reductions in multiple other age-related pathological changes, including fat deposits, hemoglobin levels, and blood cell counts.

Function of taurine

The mechanism of taurine-related benefit is likely to be the reversal of senescence-related transcriptomic profiles associated with taurine deficiency.

Compared with taurine-deficient mice, cellular markers of senescence, such as telomere shortening, cellular senescence, DNA damage after oxidative stress, and epigenetic alterations, showed significant reductions with taurine treatment.

Enhanced nutrient sensing, enhanced mitochondrial function, improved regeneration of some tissues, and reduced levels of inflammation are also pathways that may mediate the observed improvements in health parameters.

Interestingly, exercise was associated with elevated levels of taurine and other chemicals derived from it, suggesting that this may explain the beneficial effects of exercise on age-related health decline. doing. In non-human primates, taurine also confers significant benefits on multiple organ systems and health parameters.

What is the impact?

Taurine appears to be essential for early growth and development. Vitamin deficiencies at this time can promote poor health early in adulthood.

The beneficial effects of taurine supplementation on various species suggest that taurine supplementation may inhibit aging-associated declines in cellular level function. In humans, exercise causes healthy and health-promoting taurine levels to rise.

Given that taurine has no known toxic effects on humans, can be administered orally, and affects all of the key hallmarks of aging, the human body has been tested to determine whether taurine supplementation increases healthy lifespan in humans. test justified. ”