Abstract: Objective: To study the effect of taurine on depression-related behaviors and biochemical indexes in mouse models of depression. Methods: Two mouse models of behavioral despair or acute depression induced by reserpine, respectively were used for this study. The model mice were randomly divided into 6 groups: negative control, model control, fluoxetine control, and three taurine dose groups (0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg mb), with 10 animals in each group. The effect of taurine on the despair time of mice was investigated by tail suspension, and forced swimming and open field tests, and its effect on depression-related behaviors such as ptosis, rectal temperature and escape rate as well as depression-related biochemical indicators including (adreno-corticotropic hormone) ATCH, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cortisol (COR) in serum and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), monoamine oxidase (MAO) and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in brain tissue was evaluated in the mouse model of acute depression. Results: Taurine significantly shortened the suspension time of the behavioral despair model mice (P < 0.01) and forced swimming time (P < 0.01). In the open field test, taurine significantly increased the level and number of vertical movements (P < 0.01), but resulted in no significant difference in ptosis rate (P > 0.05). Meanwhile, taurine significantly increased the levels of 5-HT, DA and NE in brain tissue of depressed mice (P < 0.05), decreased MAO activity (P < 0.01), augmented BDNF content (P > 0.05), inhibited excessive secretion of CRF, ACTH and COR (P < 0.01), and improved other relevant biochemical indicators. Conclusion: Taurine may be an effective interventional strategy for reserpine-induced acute depression by improving hormone secretion in model animals.

Key words: taurine, reserpine, depression, ptosis, escape rate