Abstract

There is now increasing evidence that free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in a variety of pathological events. Reactive oxygen species are produced during normal cellular function and lead to lipid peroxidation, massive protein oxidation and degradation. Taurine is an abundant free amino acid in inflammatory cells, where it is thought to be cytoprotective. The aim of the present study was to examine whether taurine enhances endogenous antioxidant enzyme activity and/or regulates ROS generation in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. B16F10 cells were exposed to medium containing taurine for a period of 24 h. Cell viability, measured by the MTT assay, exhibited a dose-dose dependent inhibition. Taurine increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and CAT compared to those of the control, an effect paralleling an increase in gene expression. Taurine also reduced ROS content in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, our results suggest that taurine decreases ROS levels by increasing the levels of the antioxidant enzymes.