Taurine-deficient diet up-regulated cystathionine beta-synthase monoallele in hemizygous cystathionine beta-synthase knockout mice

Nutrition Research
Wei-Hsun Chao, Robert D Reynolds

Abstract

Impaired cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) causes hyperhomocystinuria and hyperhomocysteinemia, both risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Reduced CBS activity could decrease cysteine and taurine biosyntheses (metabolites of homocysteine degradation) and lead to less taurocholic acid production with a resultant increased cholesterol content. We hypothesized that a deficiency in CBS genetic material and enzyme activity would reduce taurine synthesis, which would lead to an elevated cholesterol concentration. Both sexes of hemizygous C57BL/6J-Cbs(tm1Unc) [CBS (+/-)] and wild-type C57BL/6J mice [CBS (+/+)] were divided into 2 groups. One group of CBS (+/-) and CBS (+/+) mice was fed a cysteine- and taurine-deficient diet for 8 weeks, and the other group was fed a cysteine, taurine, and vitamin B6-deficient diet for 8 weeks. Significantly higher plasma total homocysteine concentrations occurred in the CBS (+/-) mice than their CBS (+/+) cohorts. Female mice of both genotypes had significantly higher plasma total homocysteine concentrations and significantly lower relative CBS mRNA levels than did male mice. During vitamin B(6) deficiency, plasma total homocysteine concentrations were significantly elevated. Three important find...Continue Reading

References

May 1, 1988·Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation·L E BrattströmB L Hultberg
Feb 28, 1995·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·M WatanabeN Maeda
Aug 23, 2000·The Journal of Clinical Investigation·R T EberhardtJ Loscalzo

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