Effect of taurine on leucocyte function

Malignant tumor is one of the leading causes of death in the world. The efficacy of antitumor drugs is compromised due to their adverse effects such as damage to the bone marrow and immune system. Therefore, it is of significance to find ancillary drugs which cannot only enhance the therapeutic effects but also attenuate the adverse effects of antitumor drugs. This study aimed to investigate the enhancing effect of taurine on the function of leucocyte after chemotherapy of cyclophosphamide. Lewis lung carcinoma-bearing mice were given taurine combined with cyclophosphamide. Indexes including the tumor inhibition rate, the count of bone marrow nucleate cells, the count and classification of white blood cells, the spleen index, the thymus index, the lymphocyte proliferation and the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophage, peripheral blood neutrophilic granulocyte and monocyte were tested to analyze the effect of taurine on enhancing leucocyte function after cyclophosphamide chemotherapy. The tumor inhibition rates on Lewis lung carcinoma in taurine (40 mg/kg, 80 mg/kg, 160 mg/kg) combined with cyclophosphamide group were higher than that in the cyclophosphamide alone group. Compared with the cyclophosphamide group, the following indexes were found increased in the taurine (of all doses) plus cyclophosphamide groups: the count of bone marrow nucleate cells, the count and classification of white blood cells, the spleen index, the thymus index, the lymphocyte proliferation and the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophage, peripheral blood neutrophilic granulocyte and monocyte. In conclusion, taurine can enhance the function of the leucocyte after chemotherapy of cyclophosphamide. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.