Abstract:

Objective: To determine the protective effect of taurine on immune function of tumor-bearing mice subjected
to cisplatin chemotherapy. Methods: The H22 tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into five groups: tumor model
group, cisplatin chemotherapy group (1.5 mg/(kg·d)), cisplatin plus high-dose taurine (640 mg/(kg·d)) group, cisplatin plus
middle-dose taurine (320 mg/(kg·d)) group, and cisplatin plus low-dose taurine (160 mg/(kg·d)) group. At 24 hours after the
last administration, all the mice were killed by eye bleeding. Then we observed the changes in body weight, tumor mass,
spleen index, thymus index, serum interleukin-2 (IL-2) level, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and
the proliferation of thymus dependent lymphocytes (T cells) and bone marrow dependent lymphocytes (B cells). Results:
The body weights and tumor mass of the mice from cisplatin chemotherapy group were significantly lower than those from
tumor model group, and the tumor inhibition rate of cisplatin chemotherapy group was 36%. While the body weights of the
mice from cisplatin plus middle-dose taurine group and cisplatin plus high-dose taurine group were both significantly higher
than those from cisplatin chemotherapy group, and the tumor inhibition rate were 51% and 68%, respectively. Moreover, the
spleen mass and spleen index of the mice from cisplatin group were significantly lower than those from tumor model group,
while the spleen mass and spleen index of the mice from cisplatin plus various dosage taurine groups were significantly
higher than those from cisplatin treatment group. The thymus mass and thymus index of the mice from cisplatin treatment
group were significantly lower than those from tumor model group, and the thymus mass and thymus index of the mice
from cisplatin plus high-dose taurine group were significantly higher than those from cisplatin treatment group. The serum
interleukin-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α levels of the mice from cisplatin treatment group were significantly lower than those from
tumor model group (P < 0.01). In addition, compared with the cisplatin treatment group, the serum interleukin-2, IFN-γ and
TNF-α level of the mice from cisplatin plus various dosage taurine groups were higher. What’s more, cisplatin treatment
could obviously inhibit the proliferation of T cells and B cells. The stimulation index of T cells from cisplatin plus highdose
taurine group was obviously higher than that from cisplatin chemotherapy group (P < 0.05), while the stimulation index
of B cells from both cisplatin plus low-dose and middle-dose taurine groups were obviously higher than that from cisplatin
chemotherapy group. Conclusion: Taurine could exert a synergistic effect with cisplatin to inhibit tumor growth, which was
achieved by protecting the damage of immune organs and lymphocytes caused by cisplatin chemotherapy.

Key words: taurine, tumor, chemotherapy, immune function