Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging.
Parminder SinghKishore GollapalliStefano MangiolaDaniela SchrannerMohd Aslam YusufManish ChamoliSting L ShiBruno Lopes-BastosTripti NairAnnett RiermeierElena M VayndorfJudy Z WuAishwarya NilakheChristina Q NguyenMichael MuirMichael G KiflezghiAnna FoulgerAlex JunkerJack DevineKunal SharanShankar J ChintaSwati RajputAnand RanePhilipp BaumertMartin SchönfelderFrancescopaolo IavaroneGiorgia di LorenzoSwati KumariAlka GuptaRajesh SarkarCosterwell KhyriemAmanpreet S ChawlaAnkur SharmaNazan SarperNaibedya ChattopadhyayBichitra Kumar BiswalCarmine SettembreNagarajan PerumalKimara L TargoffMartin PicardSarika GuptaVidya VelagapudiAnthony T PapenfussAlaattin KayaMiguel Godinho FerreiraBrian Keith KennedyJulie K AndersenGordon J LithgowAbdullah Mahmood AliArnab MukhopadhyayAarno PalotieGabi KastenmüllerMatt KaeberleinHenning WackerhageBhupinder PalVijay K YadavPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2023)
Aging is associated with changes in circulating levels of various molecules, some of which remain undefined. We find that concentrations of circulating taurine decline with aging in mice, monkeys, and humans. A reversal of this decline through taurine supplementation increased the health span (the period of healthy living) and life span in mice and health span in monkeys. Mechanistically, taurine reduced cellular senescence, protected against telomerase deficiency, suppressed mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased DNA damage, and attenuated inflammaging. In humans, lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and taurine concentrations increased after acute endurance exercise. Thus, taurine deficiency may be a driver of aging because its reversal increases health span in worms, rodents, and primates and life span in worms and rodents. Clinical trials in humans seem warranted to test whether taurine deficiency might drive aging in humans.