The promotion of neurogenesis from neural stem cells (NSCs) in the hippocampus was found to be the most fundamental and effective therapy for depression. Our previous studies proved an antidepressive effect of taurine on rats, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, CUMS model was established in rats, and NSCs were cultured in vitro to investigate the protective effect and mechanisms of taurine on neurogenesis and apoptosis in CUMS rats and glutamate-injured NSCs. The results showed that ki67-positive cells were significantly increased by taurine, while apoptosis in the DG of CUMS rats was significantly inhibited by taurine. In vitro study, cell viability, Brdu+, β-tubulin III+, and GFAP+ cells in taurine-treated cells were significantly higher, while apoptosis rate was lower than the glutamate-treated cells. The protein expression of BDNF and its downstream pathway was upregulated by taurine administration. The results demonstrated that taurine can increase the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of NSCs; this protective effect of taurine may be due to the upregulation of BDNF/ERK/CREB signaling pathway. On the other hand, taurine can also inhibit abnormal apoptosis induced by CUMS or glutamate, the mechanism of which may be due to its antioxidative ability.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Glutamate; Neurogenesis; Proliferation; Taurine.
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