Effect of ischaemia and reperfusion on the intracellular concentration of taurine and glutamine in the hearts of patients undergoing coronary artery surgery

AbstractTaurine and glutamine are the most abundant intracellular free amino acids in mammalian hearts where changes in their intracellular concentrations are likely to influence a number of cellular activities. In this study we investigated the effects of ischaemia and reperfusion on the intracellular concentrations of taurine and glutamine in the hearts of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery using cold crystalloid or cold blood cardioplegic solutions. Ischaemic arrest (30 min), using cold crystalloid cardioplegic solution (n=19), decreased the intracellular concentrations (μmol/g wet weight) of taurine (from 9.8±0.8 to 7.7±0.7, P