Release of Tissue Taurine from the Oxygen-Deficient Perfused Rat Heart

The effects of cellular hypoxia on taurine levels in rat hearts were determined. Hearts perfused with 95% N2-5% CO2 demonstrated a significant decrease in tissue taurine content when compared to control hearts perfused with 95% O2-5% CO2. The loss of taurine in oxygen-deficient hearts was time dependent over a period of 30 min. The perfusate when analyzed for taurine content contained 100% of the released taurine. Thus, metabolic conversion of taurine had no role in the disappearance of taurine from the rat heart.