Taurine levels in plasma and blood cells in patients undergoing routine maintenance hemodialysis.

We compared taurine levels in plasma, erythrocytes, platelets, lymphocytes, and granulocytes from 11 normal adults and 11 maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients immediately before and following a routine hemodialysis treatment. Taurine concentrations were elevated in plasma predialysis, as compared with normal subjects (90 +/- 16 [SEM] v 54 +/- 2 mumol/L [1.1 +/- 0.2 v 0.7 +/- 0.03, mg/dL]), but decreased with a dialysis treatment (to 34 +/- 3 mumol/L [0.4 +/- 0.04 mg/dL]). Erythrocyte taurine levels tended to be higher in MHD patients predialysis (1.2 +/- 0.2 v 0.7 +/- 0.1 nmol/10(9) cells, P less than 0.05 where P less than 0.025 is significant) as compared with controls; erythrocyte taurine was increased after dialysis (to 1.8 +/- 0.3 nmol/10(9) cells, P less than 0.006). In contrast, platelet taurine concentrations in MHD patients were lower than normal predialysis (18 +/- 2 v 27 +/- 2 nmol/10(9) cells) and declined further during the dialysis procedure (to 14 +/- 1). Granulocyte and lymphocyte taurine levels were not different in MHD patients, as compared with normal adults, either before or after dialysis. The observed differences in blood cell taurine content (expressed per 10(9) cells) could not be explained by variation in cell volumes among the groups examined. Thus, both chronic renal failure and a routine hemodialysis treatment produce changes in cell and plasma taurine levels that tend to be specific for the individual cell type.