Sensitivity of taurine uptake to oxygen-derived reactive substances in MDR and non-MDR cells.

In human KB and LoVo cell lines, high affinity taurine uptake was strongly reduced in both a time and dose-dependent manner by cumene hydroperoxide (CH) and to a lesser extent by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Uptake-inhibition was greater in multidrug resistant (MDR) cells than in their non-MDR counterparts. Basal taurine efflux was unaffected by the oxidants. Lipid peroxidation levels closely correlated with the uptake inhibition levels, and were greater in MDR cells than in their non-MDR counterparts. The two oxidants reduced the Vmax and, to a lesser extent, the affinity of the transporter for taurine. They also reduced low affinity taurine uptake and, to a lesser extent, taurine diffusion. The composition of the medium used for cell treatment, especially its pyruvate content, greatly affected the H2O2 effect. H2O2- or CH-induced reduction of the high affinity taurine uptake was unaffected by protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors and by the calmodulin antagonist W-13, ruling out the involvement of PKC and perhaps of calmodulin kinases in their effect.

Characterisation of taurine uptake in human KB MDR and non-MDR tumour cell lines in culture.

Studies on taurine transport in MDR (multidrug resistant) and non-MDR KB cancer cells show that both cell types contain Na(+)- and Cl(-)-dependent high-affinity and low-affinity transport systems selective for beta-amino acids and a taurine diffusion component. Good buffers, such as HEPES or MOPS, interfered with taurine uptake. The basal taurine Vmax measured in isoosmotic medium represented 1/5 of taurine captured by uptake in KB non-MDR, but was negligible in KB MDR cells. High-and low- affinity uptake systems were reduced by medium hyperosmolarity in both cell types. Although properties of low-and high-affinity transport systems were similar in both cell types, Vmax (but not Km) were reduced in MDR compared to non-MDR cells. Taurine uptake was unaffected by chemotherapeutic agents (doxorubicin, vinblastine) or MDR revertants (verapamil). Taurine did not affect cell proliferation of MDR or non-MDR cells nor did it alter the inhibitory effect of doxorubicin or vinblastine cell proliferation.

Detailed study of the different taurine uptake systems of colon LoVo MDR and non-MDR cell lines.

In human, physiological taurine requirement is partly dependent on nutrition. Study of the human carcinoma LoVo cells shows the presence of a high and a low affinity taurine uptake. Besides them, a diffusion system has been found. A detailed analysis of the properties of the three systems is presented. A comparison of LoVo chemosensitive cells, and LoVo chemoresistant (MDR) cells which overexpress the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein, shows that the only difference between the two cell types belong to the kinetic properties of the high and low affinity taurine uptake systems.