ESPEYB20 13. Editors' Choice Section (12 abstracts)
13.1. Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging
Singh P , Gollapalli K , Mangiola S , Schranner D , Yusuf MA , Chamoli M , Shi SL , Lopes Bastos B , Nair T , Riermeier A , Vayndorf EM , Wu JZ , Nilakhe A , Nguyen CQ , Muir M , Kiflezghi MG , Foulger A , Junker A , Devine J , Sharan K , Chinta SJ , Rajput S , Rane A , Baumert P , Schonfelder M , Iavarone F , di Lorenzo G , Kumari S , Gupta A , Sarkar R , Khyriem C , Chawla AS , Sharma A , Sarper N , Chattopadhyay N , Biswal BK , Settembre C , Nagarajan P , Targoff KL , Picard M , Gupta S , Velagapudi V , Papenfuss AT , Kaya A , Ferreira MG , Kennedy BK , Andersen JK , Lithgow GJ , Ali AM , Mukhopadhyay A , Palotie A , Kastenmuller G , Kaeberlein M , Wackerhage H , Pal B & Yadav VK
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn9257 Science 2023;380:eabn9257.
In Brief: The authors describe a wide range of studies. Firstly, observational studies showed that circulating taurine concentrations decline with age in mice, monkeys, and humans – and in the latter, low taurine was associated with metabolic disease (abdominal fat, blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes). They then gave oral taurine to mice throughout their lives and showed that this increased lifespan by 10–12% and improved functional outcomes of almost all tissues studied (bone, muscle, pancreas, brain, fat, gut, and immune system). Similarly, they found that taurine supplementation improved almost all known cellular mechanisms of ageing, including: DNA damage repair, telomere protection, epigenetic markers of ageing, mitochondrial function and inflammation.
Comment: These are truly remarkable, almost unbelievable findings. The authors observe consistent findings across a comprehensive range of study designs, from observational and experimental studies across diverse species to human observational phenotypic and genetic associations. Taurine is one of the most abundant amino acids. Notably, oral supplementation (to mice and worms) was sufficient to improve not only lifespan but also ‘healthspan’, the duration of good health.
The data certainly support the authors’ proposal that trials of oral taurine supplementation in humans are now needed. However, they cite a recent meta-analysis of such randomised controlled trials in humans, which found no benefit of taurine supplementation. The authors do not comment on whether the doses used in previous unsuccessful trials are adequate according to the doses used in their successful experiments. However, the lack of any apparent toxic effect of oral taurine in humans means this should not be a restriction.
An interesting and relevant observation is that taurine appears to be more important during early life development. Accordingly, early life taurine deficiency leads to growth retardation and osteoporosis, and maternal supplementation during pregnancy increases offspring postnatal bone mass. So it might be important to start taking taurine supplements as soon as possible!
Volume 20
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ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology
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