Taurine Protects Against Melamine-Induced Hippocampal Neurotoxicity in Rats by Attenuating Metabolic Responses, Autophagy and Inflammation

Melamine, an industrial chemical linked to neurotoxicity, prompted this study investigating taurine’s neuroprotective effects in rat brains. The study examined the impact of taurine on brain metabolic enzymes, neurochemicals, autophagy-related proteins, and oxidative-inflammatory pathways. Twenty-eight rats were divided into four groups (seven rats per group): control (saline), taurine (100 mg/kg), melamine (50 mg/kg/day), and melamine plus taurine. Taurine administration (30 min post-melamine) continued daily for 28 days, starting on day 29 to day 56, which allowed for the assessment of its restorative effect against ongoing melamine-induced neurotoxicity. Non-spatial recognition memory was evaluated using the novel-object recognition memory test (NORT). Following this, brain neurochemical status, metabolic enzymes, autophagic proteins, and oxidative-inflammatory markers were assessed postmortem. Results demonstrated that taurine improved cognitive function in melamine-treated rats, as evidenced by increased exploration of novel objects in the NORT. Taurine protected against melamine-induced oxidative stress. Additionally, taurine reduce tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β expression, modulated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and beclin-1, restored brain metabolic enzyme activity, enhanced neurotransmitter levels, and prevented alterations in α-synuclein and paraoxonase 1 (PON1). In conclusion, taurine protects against melamine-induced neurotoxicity in rats by improving autophagic response, downregulating apoptosis and inflammation markers, inhibiting oxidative stress, and potentially restoring brain metabolic enzyme activities and neurotransmitter levels.