# NUTRITIONAL TAURINE--PREGNANCY AND OUTCOME

> **NIH NIH R01** · INSTITUTE FOR BASIC RES IN DEV DISABIL · 1993 · $159,384

## Abstract

Results from the first five years of funding have demonstrated
conclusively that dietary taurine is essential for normal feline
pregnancy and outcome, and that its absence from the diet results in
excessive reproductive wastage and a number of neurological abnormalities
in surviving offspring.  We have documented morphological abnormalities
in the cerebellum, visual cortex, dorsal roots/spinal cord, retina and
tapetum of such animals.  We have shown that females consuming diets
containing small, but insufficient, amounts of taurine have marginally
improved breeding performance and the offspring have more subtle defects.
These extensive observations establish that a dietary content of 0.05%
taurine is the minimum consistent with normal feline pregnancy and
outcome.  We propose to extend our examinations of the offspring to
include quantitative morphometric measures of brain cells for all three
groups, both at weaning 8 weeks after birth and in newborn animals.  This
will include a laminar analysis of the number of neurons, astrocytes,
oligodendrocytes and microglia in the visual cortex and comparison with a
non-visual area of cerebral cortex, the frontal cortex.  We plan to
extend these measurements to the primary visual relays, the lateral
geniculate nucleus and the superior colliculus.  The results from these
studies will indicate how widespread are the effects of taurine
deficiency on brain development.  In addition, we propose to use our
newly prepared taurine antibody in those same animals to examine
intercellular diversity of taurine content within cell types, and its
response to dietary limitation of taurine.  Thus we will determine, for
example, if those cerebellar granule cells which fail to migrate from the
external granule cell layer are atypically depleted of taurine.  Similar
observations will be made on the abnormal cells in the visual cortex.
The results of these studies will greatly increase our understanding of
the role of taurine in the fundamental processes of development and how
individual cells are affected by a nutritional deficiency of taurine.  We
will use conventional morphological stains, as well as quantitative
morphometry and immunostaining, to identify the appearance of
abnormalities in utero.  Finally, the long-term consequences of taurine
deficiency during development on functions such as reproduction as well
as on brain structure and biochemistry will be continued.  Post-weaning
intervention with dietary taurine on these parameters will be attempted.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2197335
- **Project number:** 5R01HD016634-09
- **Recipient organization:** INSTITUTE FOR BASIC RES IN DEV DISABIL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** LKEPMM3KKF27
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN A STURMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $159,384
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1983-12-01 → 1995-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2197335

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2197335, NUTRITIONAL TAURINE--PREGNANCY AND OUTCOME (5R01HD016634-09). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2197335. Licensed CC0.

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