Antidepressant effect of taurine in chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depressive rats

Scientific Reports, Jul 2017

Depression, a psychiatric and dysthymic disorder, severely affects the learning, work and life quality. The main pathogenesis of depression is associated with central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Taurine has been demonstrated to exert protective effects on the brain development and can improve learning ability and memory. Our study investigated the antidepressant-like effects of taurine pre-treatment by examining the changes in depression-like behavior, hormones, neurotransmitters, inflammatory factors and neurotrophic factors in the hippocampus of a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depressive rat model. Taurine was found to inhibit the decrease of sucrose consumption and prevent the deficiency of spatial memory and anxiety in rats exposed to CUMS, suggesting a preventive effect of taurine on depression-like behavior. Furthermore, the decreased levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine, dopamine, noradrenaline; the increased levels of glutamate, corticosterone; and the decreased expressions of fibroblast growth factor-2, vascular endothelial growth factor and brain derived neurotrophic factor in depressive rats were hindered by taurine pre-administration. However, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β levels were not significantly changed by taurine. The results demonstrated that the anti-depressive effect of taurine may be involved in the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the promotion of neurogenesis, neuronal survival and growth in the hippocampus.

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Antidepressant effect of taurine in chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depressive rats

Abstract Depression, a psychiatric and dysthymic disorder, severely affects the learning, work and life quality. The main pathogenesis of depression is associated with central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Taurine has been demonstrated to exert protective effects on the brain development and can improve learning ability and memory. Our study investigated the antidepressant-like effects of taurine pre-treatment by examining the changes in depression-like behavior, hormones, neurotransmitters, inflammatory factors and neurotrophic factors in the hippocampus of a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depressive rat model. Taurine was found to inhibit the decrease of sucrose consumption and prevent the deficiency of spatial memory and anxiety in rats exposed to CUMS, suggesting a preventive effect of taurine on depression-like behavior. Furthermore, the decreased levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine, dopamine, noradrenaline; the increased levels of glutamate, corticosterone; and the decreased expressions of fibroblast growth factor-2, vascular endothelial growth factor and brain derived neurotrophic factor in depressive rats were hindered by taurine pre-administration. However, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β levels were not significantly changed by taurine. The results demonstrated that the anti-depressive effect of taurine may be involved in the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the promotion of neurogenesis, neuronal survival and growth in the hippocampus. Introduction With the rapid development of society and the economy, stress and adversity have become severe and can cause depression, a psychiatric and dysthymic disorder characterized by a wide range of symptoms, such as lasting depression, intellectual ability retardation, cognitive impairment, and somatic symptoms1. It has been demonstrated that depression has become a common illness worldwide, affecting approximately 350 million people. According to the WHO’s prediction, the incidence of depression increases 113% per year and is expected to become the world’s second largest disease burden by 2020. Late adolescence or young adulthood is considered a critical period of susceptibility to depression caused by tasks, family problems, transitions and social role changes2. Studies have found that exposure to chronic stress during adolescent can lead to changes in endocrine and brain function that may predispose individuals to the development of stress-related psychopathologies, such as depression, and lead to long-term somatic effects in adulthood3. What’s more, the pathogenesis of depression is complicated and mainly involves both neuroendocrine and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, as well as neurobiological and morphological alterations across several brain regions that are particularly vulnerable to stress, including the hippocampus, which is the main region responsible for learning, memory and emotion4, 5. Dysfunction of hippocampus includes neuron reduction, inflammatory stress, hormone release, neurotransmitter system disorder, and the loss of neurotrophic factors6. Although many types of anti-depressant drugs such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have beneficial effects on depression, most of the currently used anti-depressant drugs have been shown to have different disadvantages, including slow onset, low response rates, toxic effects to organs and drug resistance7, 8. Therefore, functional food that could prevent depression and medicine with less or no adverse effects have garnered the attention of researchers. Taurine, a 2-aminoethylsulfonic acid present in many mammalian tissues, has been reported to participate in various important physiological and pharmaceutical functions, such as tissue structure and function maintenance, membrane stabilization, osmoregulation and neuroprotection9, 10. In the brain, taurine presents in the cerebellum, cortex and hippocampus and can be transported into neurons by taurine transporter (TAUT), which is also widely expressed in the CNS, including on the blood–brain barrier (BBB)11, indicating that peripheral taurine could be transported into the brain through the BBB and take effect there. Taurine was found to be one of the most important amino acids in the development of immature brains, including maintaining the survival and development of neuronal proliferation, stem cell proliferation and differentiation, and protecting neural cells from excitotoxicity induced by excitatory amino acids12. It has also been reported that taurine could increase the emotional learning ability and memory of rats13. Furthermore, clinical evidence has demonstrated an increase in the plasma concentration of taurine in depressed patients, while a deficiency in taurine is related to the development of depression, suggesting a close relationship between taurine and depression14. Meanwhi (...truncated)


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Gao-Feng Wu, Shuang Ren, Ri-Yi Tang, Chang Xu, Jia-Qi Zhou, Shu-Mei Lin, Ying Feng, Qun-Hui Yang, Jian-Min Hu, Jian-Cheng Yang. Antidepressant effect of taurine in chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depressive rats, Scientific Reports, 2017, Issue: 7, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05051-3