Perinatal taurine exerts a hypotensive effect in male spontaneously hypertensive rats and down‐regulates endothelial oxide nitric synthase in the aortic arch

MENSEGUE, MELISA F.; BURGUEÑO, ADRIANA L.; TELLECHEA, MARIANA L.

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2020 vol. 47 p. 780 - 789

0305-1870

Essential hypertension is considered to be a result of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors, including perinatal factors. Different advantageousperinatal factors proved to have beneficial long-lasting effects against an abnormalgenetic background. Taurine is a ubiquitous sulphur-containing amino acid present infoods such as seafood. The antihypertensive effects of taurine have been reportedin experimental studies and in human hypertension. We aimed to investigate the effects of perinatal treatment with taurine in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), aknown model of genetic hypertension. Female SHR were administered with taurine(3 g/L) during gestation and lactation (SHR-TAU). Untreated SHR and Wistar-Kyotorats (WKY) were used as controls. Long-lasting effects in offspring were investigated. Addition of taurine to the mother´s drinking water reduced blood pressurein adult offspring. No differences were observed in cardiac hypertrophy. Findingson morphometric evaluations suggest that perinatal treatment with taurine wouldbe partially effective in improving structural alterations of the aorta. Modificationsin gene expression of Bcl-2 family members and upregulation of endothelial nitricoxide synthase in the aorta of 22-week-old male offspring were found. No differences were observed on relative telomere length in different cardiovascular tissuesbetween SHR and SHR-TAU. Altogether results suggest that taurine programming,albeit sex specific, is associated with gene expression changes which ultimately maylead to improvement of aortic remodelling and enhanced endothelial function because of augmented nitric oxide (NO) production.