Intestinal taurine transport: a review

Intestinal uptake of dietary taurine is an important contributor to taurine homeostasis and may become crucial when taurine metabolism is impaired. This review aims to assess the literature documenting taurine transport and review what is currently known about the operation of the enterocyte taurine transport protein. Sources included MedLine searches from the last 10 years and references from original and review articles. The aim was to include human and animal studies directly addressing the subject of taurine uptake by enterocytes. Intestinal taurine transport has been well documented in in vivo studies using many different animal models. The mechanistic/kinetic aspects of the transport system have been extensively documented. However, little is known about what regulates the system. The recent development of a cell culture model of intestinal taurine transport will allow studies to explore the regulation of gut taurine uptake, which promises to be a very exciting area.