Thiotaurine prevents apoptosis of human neutrophils: a putative role in inflammation

Thiotaurine, a metabolic product of cystine, contains a sulfane sulfur atom that can be released as H(2)S, a gaseous molecule with a regulatory activity on inflammatory responses. The influence of thiotaurine on human leukocyte spontaneous apoptosis has been evaluated by measuring caspase-3 activity in human neutrophils. Addition of 100 μM thiotaurine induced a 55% inhibition of caspase-3 activity similar to that exerted by 100 μM H(2)S. Interestingly, in the presence of 1 mM GSH, an increase of the inhibition of apoptosis by thiotaurine has been observed. These results indicate that the bioactivity of thiotaurine can be modulated by GSH, which promotes the reductive breakdown of the thiosulfonate generating H(2)S and hypotaurine. As thiotaurine is able to incorporate reversibly reduced sulfur, it is suggested that the biosynthesis of this thiosulfonate could be a means to transport and store H(2)S.