taurine – American ME and CFS Society

Abstract:

Background: A subset of individuals (10-20%) experience post-COVID condition (PCC) subsequent to initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, which lacks effective treatment. PCC carries a substantial global burden associated with negative economic and health impacts. This study aims to evaluate the association between plasma taurine levels with self-reported symptoms and adverse clinical outcomes in patients with PCC.

Methods and findings: We analyzed the plasma proteome and metabolome of 117 individuals during their acute COVID-19 hospitalization and at the convalescence phase six-month post infection. Findings were compared with 28 age and sex-matched healthy controls. Plasma taurine levels were negatively associated with PCC symptoms and correlated with markers of inflammation, tryptophan metabolism, and gut dysbiosis. Stratifying patients based on the trajectories of plasma taurine levels during six-month follow-up revealed a significant association with adverse clinical events. Increase in taurine levels during the transition to convalescence were associated with a reduction in adverse events independent of comorbidities and acute COVID-19 severity. In a multivariate analysis, increased plasma taurine level between acute and convalescence phase was associated with marked protection from adverse clinical events with a hazard ratio of 0.13 (95% CI: 0.05-0.35; p<0.001).

Conclusions: Taurine emerges as a promising predictive biomarker and potential therapeutic target in PCC. Taurine supplementation has already demonstrated clinical benefits in various diseases and warrants exploration in large-scale clinical trials for alleviating PCC.

Source: Khoramjoo M, Wang K, Srinivasan K, Gheblawi M, Mandal R, Rousseau S, Wishart D, Prasad V, Richer L, Cheung AM, Oudit GY. Plasma taurine level is linked to symptom burden and clinical outcomes in post-COVID condition. PLoS One. 2024 Jun 5;19(6):e0304522. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304522. PMID: 38837993; PMCID: PMC11152273. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11152273/ (Full text)

Abstract:

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by significant and persistent fatigue. Ginseng is a traditional anti-fatigue Chinese medicine with a long history in Asia, as demonstrated by clinical and experimental studies. Ginsenoside Rg1 is mainly derived from ginseng, and its anti-fatigue metabolic mechanism has not been thoroughly explored.

Methods: We performed non-targeted metabolomics of rat serum using LC-MS and multivariate data analysis to identify potential biomarkers and metabolic pathways. In addition, we implemented network pharmacological analysis to reveal the potential target of ginsenoside Rg1 in CFS rats. The expression levels of target proteins were measured by PCR and Western blotting.

Results: Metabolomics analysis confirmed metabolic disorders in the serum of CFS rats. Ginsenoside Rg1 can regulate metabolic pathways to reverse metabolic biases in CFS rats. We found a total of 34 biomarkers, including key markers Taurine and Mannose 6-phosphate. AKT1, VEGFA and EGFR were identified as anti-fatigue targets of ginsenoside Rg1 using network pharmacological analysis. Finally, biological analysis showed that ginsenoside Rg1 was able to down-regulate the expression of EGFR.

Conclusion: Our results suggest ginsenoside Rg1 has an anti-fatigue effect, impacting the metabolism of Taurine and Mannose 6-phosphate through EGFR regulation. This demonstrates ginsenoside Rg1 is a promising alternative treatment for patients presenting with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Source: Lei C, Chen J, Huang Z, Men Y, Qian Y, Yu M, Xu X, Li L, Zhao X, Jiang Y, Liu Y. Ginsenoside Rg1 can reverse fatigue behavior in CFS rats by regulating EGFR and affecting Taurine and Mannose 6-phosphate metabolism. Front Pharmacol. 2023 Apr 10;14:1163638. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1163638. PMID: 37101547; PMCID: PMC10123289. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10123289/ (Full text)