Taurine treatment reverses protein malnutrition-induced endothelial dysfunction of the pancreatic vasculature: the role of hydrogen sulfide

Protein malnutrition in childhood predisposes individuals to vascular and pancreatic endocrine dysfunction, thus increasing the risk of diabetes and hypertension. Because taurine may reduce cardiometabolic risk, we hypothesized that taurine treatment has a beneficial effect on the pancreatic vasculature during protein restriction.Methods and Results.Weaned mice were fed a normal or a low-protein diet and were treated with or without taurine for 3  months. The lieno-pancreatic artery (LPA) from low-protein diet-treated mice exhibited impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine that was associated with decreased endothelium-derived hyperpolarization (EDH), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production, and H2S-synthesizing CBS expression and impaired vasorelaxation to an H2S-donor, NaHS.
Source: Metabolism - Clinical and Experimental - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research