Which mechanisms are involved in taurine-dependent granulocytic immune response or amino- and α-keto acid homeostasis?

We examined the effects of β-alanine (taurine analogue and taurine transport antagonist), taurine (regarding its role in neutrophil (PMN) immunonutrition) and taurine combined either with L-NAME (inhibitor of •NO-synthase), SNAP (•NO donor), DON (glutamine-analogue and inhibitor of glutamine-requiring enzymes), DFMO (inhibitor of ornithine-decarboxylase) and β-alanine on neutrophil amino- and α-keto acid profiles or important PMN immune functions in order to establish whether taurine transport-, nitric oxide-, glutamine- or ornithine-dependent mechanisms are involved in any of the taurine-induced effects. According to the present findings, the taurine-mediated effect appears to be based primarily on a modulation of important transmembraneous transport mechanisms and only secondarily on directly or indirectly induced modifications in intragranulocytic amino- and α-keto acid homoeostasis or metabolism. Although a direct relation to the parallel observed immunological modifications can only be presumed, these results show very clearly that compositional modifications in the free intragranulocytic amino- and α keto-acid pools coinciding with changes in intragranulocytic taurine levels are relevant metabolic determinants that can significantly influence the magnitude and quality of the granulocytic immune response.