UPTAKE OF TAURINE BY PLATELETS IN RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA

Abstract Uptake of 3 H-taurine by platelets from twelve patients with retinitis pigmentosa (R.P.) and from healthy controls was measured. Platelets were incubated in autologous plasma with 3 H-taurine for different times and at different substrate concentrations. The uptake of taurine by R.P. platelets at each incubation time was about two-thirds of the control value, the difference being statistically significant. K m was about the same, but V max was lower in R.P. platelets. The results suggest that R.P. is a disease affecting not only the eye but also taurine transport and/or storage in general.