Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice

Aging is associated with increased inflammation and reduced hippocampal neurogenesis, which may in turn contribute to cognitive impairment. Taurine is a free amino acid found in numerous diets, with anti-inflammatory properties. Although abundant in the young brain, the decrease in taurine concentra...

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Main Authors: Elias Gebara, Florian Udry, Sébastien Sultan, Nicolas Toni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2015-05-01
Series:Stem Cell Research
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873506115000434
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author Elias Gebara
Florian Udry
Sébastien Sultan
Nicolas Toni
author_facet Elias Gebara
Florian Udry
Sébastien Sultan
Nicolas Toni
author_sort Elias Gebara
collection DOAJ
description Aging is associated with increased inflammation and reduced hippocampal neurogenesis, which may in turn contribute to cognitive impairment. Taurine is a free amino acid found in numerous diets, with anti-inflammatory properties. Although abundant in the young brain, the decrease in taurine concentration with age may underlie reduced neurogenesis. Here, we assessed the effect of taurine on hippocampal neurogenesis in middle-aged mice. We found that taurine increased cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus through the activation of quiescent stem cells, resulting in increased number of stem cells and intermediate neural progenitors. Taurine had a direct effect on stem/progenitor cells proliferation, as observed in vitro, and also reduced activated microglia. Furthermore, taurine increased the survival of newborn neurons, resulting in a net increase in adult neurogenesis. Together, these results show that taurine increases several steps of adult neurogenesis and support a beneficial role of taurine on hippocampal neurogenesis in the context of brain aging.
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spelling doaj.art-19a57595d139409cb6d2c613dd3adb9f2022-12-21T18:51:10ZengElsevierStem Cell Research1873-50611876-77532015-05-0114336937910.1016/j.scr.2015.04.001Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging miceElias GebaraFlorian UdrySébastien SultanNicolas ToniAging is associated with increased inflammation and reduced hippocampal neurogenesis, which may in turn contribute to cognitive impairment. Taurine is a free amino acid found in numerous diets, with anti-inflammatory properties. Although abundant in the young brain, the decrease in taurine concentration with age may underlie reduced neurogenesis. Here, we assessed the effect of taurine on hippocampal neurogenesis in middle-aged mice. We found that taurine increased cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus through the activation of quiescent stem cells, resulting in increased number of stem cells and intermediate neural progenitors. Taurine had a direct effect on stem/progenitor cells proliferation, as observed in vitro, and also reduced activated microglia. Furthermore, taurine increased the survival of newborn neurons, resulting in a net increase in adult neurogenesis. Together, these results show that taurine increases several steps of adult neurogenesis and support a beneficial role of taurine on hippocampal neurogenesis in the context of brain aging.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873506115000434
spellingShingle Elias Gebara
Florian Udry
Sébastien Sultan
Nicolas Toni
Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice
Stem Cell Research
title Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice
title_full Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice
title_fullStr Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice
title_full_unstemmed Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice
title_short Taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice
title_sort taurine increases hippocampal neurogenesis in aging mice
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873506115000434
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AT florianudry taurineincreaseshippocampalneurogenesisinagingmice
AT sebastiensultan taurineincreaseshippocampalneurogenesisinagingmice
AT nicolastoni taurineincreaseshippocampalneurogenesisinagingmice