Characteristics of Taurine Transport in Cultured Renal Epithelial Cell Lines: Asymmetric Polarity of Proximal and Distal Cell Lines

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Abstract
Taurine is present in millimolar quantities in the intracellular space of many tissues (Chesney 1985) and is postulated to serve many functions including osmotic cell volume regulation, cell detoxification, and enhancing the development of normal neural and retinal tissues (Chesney 1985). In mammals, taurine total body pool is regulated by the renal proximal tubule where taurine is transported by the neutral ß-amino acid transport system (Chesney et al., 1983; Chesney 1985; Rozen and Scriver 1982). When dietary intake of taurine or its precursor amino acids is reduced, urinary taurine levels decline due to enhanced renal tubular reabsorption of taurine (Chesney et al., 1983; Chesney 1985; Rozen and Scriver 1982).