Abstract: Objective To observe the regulating effect of taurine on the function of peritoneal macrophages of mice in vitro. Methods Mouse peritoneal macrophages were collected and the cell concentration was adjusted to 2 × 10⁵/mL. The mouse peritoneal macrophages were divided into 5 groups,which were normal control group, LPS control(LPS final concentration 1 μg/mL), 3 dose of taurine groups(final concentration of taurine was 5 μg/mL, 50 μg/mL and 500 μg/mL, respectively). The IL-12, TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6 in macrophages supernatant were determined by ELISA. The phagocyte rate and phagocytic index of macrophages on Staphylococcus Albus were detected by Whight's stain and the content of NO in the supernatant of after phagocytosis was measured by Griess. Results The levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in peritoneal macrophages in every taurine group were higher than those in normal control group(P<0.05). The content of IL-12 in the high dose taurine group was higher than that in the control group(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in IL-1 content between the taurine group and the control group. The phagocytic rate, phagocytic index and supernatant NO of macrophages in the medium and high dose taurine group were higher than those in the normal control group(P<0.05). Conclusion Taurine can regulate the secretion of IL-12, TNF- α, IL-6 in peritoneal macrophages of mice, but does not regulate the secretion of IL-1, and taurine can promote the phagocytosis and killing function of macrophages to staphylococcus.

Key words: taurine, macrophage, cytekin, phagocytic function