Biochemical and ultrastuctural alteration in rat after hyperoxic treatment: effect of taurine and hypotaurine

The cell ultrastructure and some detoxifying enzyme activities were studied in skeletal muscles of young rats kept for 84 h under normobaric hyperoxia (95% O2) or normoxia as control. Rat were injected i.p.. Every 12 h either with 1 ml saline, 1 ml saline+30 mg hypotaurine or 1 ml saline+30 mg taurine. Ultrastructural observation revealed an highly protective effect on tissue damages due to hyperoxia in taurine-treated rats and, at less extent, in hypotaurine-treated ones. Enzymatic assays suggest a different mechanism of the two molecules in their protective action.