Abstract
Kittens fed a purified-casein diet immediately after weaning develop retinal degeneration and blindness unless supplemented with taurine (tau). Supplementation with tau precursors (methionine, cystine or inorganic sulfate) does not prevent this. In contrast, the amount of tau in the form of taurocholate in these kittens does not change appreciably and tau concentration in brain tissue is more severely depleted than retina, but without apparent behavioral or pathological change.
Apparently the most important function of tau in kittens is bile acid conjugation and this function is maintained at the expense of tissues. Second in importance seems to be retinal function but the kitten is unable to maintain normal retinal tau conc because of: 1) its postnatal rapid rate of increase in retinal tau conc, 2) the high tau conc in cat retina, 3) the low rate of tau synthesis in cat, 4) the rapid growth rate of kitten, 5) the inability of cat to convert from tau conjugation to predominantly glycine conjugation of bile acids (as the human infant does).
These changes are likely to be more severe if the kitten is fed the synthetic diet immediately after birth, for cat milk contains a high concentration of tau and therefore can minimize the deficiency. The relevance of these results to the human infant will be discussed in light of the limited ability of man to synthesize tau, the low conc of tau in cow milk and formulas derived from it, and the high cone of tau in human milk.
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Sturman, J., Rassin, D., Hayes, K. et al. TAURINE IN THE DEVELOPING KITTEN: NUTRITIONAL IMPORTANCE. Pediatr Res 11, 450 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00482
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00482
