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Protective role of taurine in developing offspring affected by maternal alcohol consumption
Pilant Ananchaipatana-Auitragoon1, Yutthana Ananchaipatana-Auitragoon1, Vorasith Siripornpanich1
1Research Center for Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Nakhonpathom 73170, Thailand.
Insights
Maternal taurine supplementation protected offspring from alcohol-induced developmental issues, preserving learning and memory. Supplementing taurine later in life did not reverse these alcohol-related damages.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Maternal alcohol consumption negatively impacts offspring development, causing physical and cognitive deficits.
- Taurine, an amino acid vital for development, shows protective effects against neurotoxicity and tissue damage, including from alcohol exposure.
- The efficacy of taurine in preventing developmental neurotoxicity and reversing established alcohol-induced brain damage remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the protective role of taurine during prenatal and early postnatal development against maternal alcohol consumption.
- To determine if taurine supplementation in adult offspring can reverse alcohol-induced learning and memory impairments.
Main Methods:
- Pregnant ICR mice received 10% alcohol, with or without taurine, during gestation and lactation.
- Offspring growth, mortality, and body weight were monitored until adulthood.
- Adult offspring underwent a water maze task to assess learning and memory, with some receiving taurine supplementation.
Main Results:
- Offspring exposed to alcohol but whose mothers received taurine supplementation exhibited preserved learning and memory.
- Offspring treated with taurine only in adulthood showed impaired learning and memory.
- Maternal taurine supplementation demonstrated neuroprotective effects, preserving cognitive functions during development.
Conclusions:
- Taurine provides neuroprotection and preserves learning and memory when administered during development alongside maternal alcohol consumption.
- Taurine supplementation exclusively in adulthood does not reverse alcohol-induced cognitive deficits.
- Early-life intervention with taurine is crucial for mitigating the adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on brain development.
Abstract:
Maternal alcohol consumption is known to affect offspring growth and development, including growth deficits, physical anomalies, impaired brain functions and behavioral disturbances. Taurine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, is essential during development, and continually found to be protective against neurotoxicity and various tissue damages including those from alcohol exposure. However, it is still unknown whether taurine can exert its protection during development of central nervous system and whether it can reverse alcohol damages on developed brain later in life. This study aims to investigate protective roles of taurine against maternal alcohol consumption on growth and development of offspring. The experimental protocol was conducted using ICR-outbred pregnant mice given 10 % alcohol, with or without maternal taurine supplementation during gestation and lactation. Pregnancy outcomes, offspring mortality and successive bodyweight until adult were monitored. Adult offspring is supplemented taurine to verify its ability to reverse damages on learning and memory through a water maze task performance. Our results demonstrate that offspring of maternal alcohol exposure, together with maternal taurine supplementation show conserved learning and memory, while that of offspring treated taurine later in life are disturbed. Taurine provides neuroprotective effects and preserves learning and memory processes when given together with maternal alcohol consumption, but not shown such effects when given exclusively in offspring.
