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Taurine 9 pp 339–351Cite as

Long-Term Taurine Supplementation Leads to Enhanced Hepatic Steatosis, Renal Dysfunction and Hyperglycemia in Mice Fed on a High-Fat Diet

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 803))

Abstract

There is growing interest in the nutraceutical applications of taurine (TAU) for the prevention and treatment of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The lack of long-term clinical and animal studies available makes it difficult to address the safety of supraphysiological TAU exposure over prolonged periods. Here, we assessed growth parameters, renal function and glucose homeostasis in mice fed on a high-fat diet (HFD) and supplemented with 5 % TAU for 12 months. Body weight and fat depots were increased by the HFD and unaltered by TAU supplementation. TAU enhanced diet-induced hepatomegaly and liver steatosis. TAU-supplemented mice developed renal dysfunction as judged by increased urinary proteins and albumin, kidney weight and accumulation of lipid vacuoles in renal tubule. Long-term TAU enhanced the deleterious effects of the HFD upon glucose control, as indicated by fasting hyperglycemia, insulin hypersecretion, lower hepatic Akt activation and peripheral insulin resistance. In conclusion, long-term TAU supplementation enhanced the HFD-induced ectopic lipid accumulation in the liver and kidney and disrupted body glucose control and renal function. TAU-based interventions for obese and diabetic subjects should be carefully planned to avoid extended treatments over prolonged periods.

*These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Abbreviations

T2D:

Type 2 Diabetes

TAU:

Taurine

HFD:

High fat diet

KiTT:

Glucose decay constant

Akt:

Protein kinase B

FAS:

Fatty acid synthase

GAPDH:

Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and Conselho Nacional para o Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

      R. C. S. Branco M.Sc., T. M. Batista, R. L. Camargo, P. C. Borck, C. C. Zoppi, A. C. Boschero & E. M. Carneiro

    2. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Campus UFRJ-Macaé, Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

      R. A. Ribeiro

    3. Faculty of Education, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

      P. C. B. Lollo

    4. Faculty of Health Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

      P. N. Morato

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    1. R. C. S. Branco M.Sc.
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    2. T. M. Batista
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    3. R. L. Camargo
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    4. P. C. Borck
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    5. R. A. Ribeiro
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    6. C. C. Zoppi
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    7. P. C. B. Lollo
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    9. A. C. Boschero
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    10. E. M. Carneiro
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    Correspondence to R. C. S. Branco M.Sc. or E. M. Carneiro .

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    Editors and Affiliations

    1. Chair of Immunology, Medical College Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland

      Janusz Marcinkiewicz

    2. Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA

      Stephen W. Schaffer

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    © 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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    Branco, R.C.S. et al. (2015). Long-Term Taurine Supplementation Leads to Enhanced Hepatic Steatosis, Renal Dysfunction and Hyperglycemia in Mice Fed on a High-Fat Diet. In: Marcinkiewicz, J., Schaffer, S. (eds) Taurine 9. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 803. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15126-7_26

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