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Research Poster PresentationsP O S T E R 8 8Taurine Role in HemodymanicsEvelyn OkekeFaculty Mentor: Dr. Abdeslem El IdrissiDepartment of BiologyTaurine is a sulfur containing amino acid thatfunctions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. It alsoacts as an allosteric transmitter, mimicking gammaaminobutyricacid (GABA) by binding to the GABAAreceptor not only in the brain but also in theperipheral tissue. Therefore, taurine plays animportant role in the modulation of cardiovascularfunctions. Our study was designed to elucidate thedifferences between acute and chronic taurinesupplementation. We determined how acute andchronic taurine supplementation in Long EvansHooded rats influences the blood pressure andfurther investigated the possible taurine-inducedbiochemical changes. The rats that received theacute taurine treatment (via i.p. injection) showedlower blood pressure after 15 minutes postinjection. In contrast, the rats that received thechronic taurine supplementation, which was addedto the drinking water (0.05% taurine in dH2O) for aperiod of four weeks, displayed higher bloodpressure. Further investigation in vitro showed thatthe chronic taurine supplementation resulted in adown regulation of the GABAA receptor, and theenzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) was upregulated. In addition, in both, males and females,that received the chronic treatment, we observed anincrease in heart rate. We conclude that acuteadministration of taurine maybe beneficial inlowering high blood pressure by taurine activatingthe GABAA receptor which initiates vasodilation.However, chronic intake of taurine shows increasedblood pressure in our study, and therefore seemscounter therapeutic in treating high blood pressure.P O S T E R 8 9Characterizing Ataxia Profiles ofTaurine Treated Fragile-X MiceElizabeth CheFaculty Mentor: Dr. Abdeslem El IdrissiDepartment of BiologyFragile-X is part of hereditary genetic conditions,called trinucleotide repeat disorders, which areexpressed through mutations of the FMR1 gene.Patients suffering from Fragile-X AssociatedTremor/Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS) exhibit ataxiarelated balance problems such as “parkinsonism” dueto difficulty in learning and motor adjustment andare observed to have more noticeable conditions asthey age. Males with Fragile-X are often better atgross motor skills, movements by larger muscles ofthe body, compared to fine motor development.Their low muscle tone, balance, flat feet, andhyperextensible joints cause awkward movementsand poor motor control. In this study, male wild-typeand knockout (Fragile-X) mice are given taurine, anabundant free amino acid found in most tissues –especially the heart and brain, to understand theinfluence of taurine in disturbances of the cerebralcortex and its GABA receptors as associated withFragile-X patients. Gait ataxia profiling is the onlynoninvasive technique conducted to analyze theaffect of chronic taurine on locomotor activity ofmice in stride length, overlap, base width, anglemeasurement and linearity. Ataxia tests areperformed for WT, WT-Tau, KO and KO-Tau mice atthe age of 3 (young) and 8 (old) months. Analysis isthen conducted in each category to provide us withthe best indicator of motor behavior in Fragile-Xmice with relation to age.67