SummaryUlcerative colitis (UC) is a multi-factorial inflammatory disease of the colon and rectum. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of taurine, an anti-oxidant amino acid, on oxidative stress and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins, pro-apoptotic Bax and anti-apoptotic B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) in colon tissue in rats with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis. Rats received taurine (1·5% w/v) in drinking water for 15 days before and 15 days after administration of TNBS solution. Then, colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, and Bax and Bcl-2 expression were measured. TNBS-induced colitis caused significantly increased MPO activity and MDA levels and decreased GSH levels in colon tissue compared to controls. Increase in Bax expression and decrease in Bcl-2 expression were detected in colon of rats with TNBS-induced colitis. Taurine treatment was associated with amelioration in macroscopic and microscopic colitis scores, decreased colonic MPO activity and MDA levels and increased GSH levels in TNBS-induced colitis. In addition, taurine reduced the expression of Bax and prevented the loss of Bcl-2 proteins in colon tissue of rats with TNBS-induced colitis. The results of this study show that taurine administration may exert beneficial effects in UC by decreasing inflammatory reactions, oxidative stress and apoptosis.

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Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) plays a central role in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism. Genetic polymorphisms of the CETP gene can influence levels of serum lipoproteins. It has been reported that mean HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations are low in Turkish population. Thus, we investigated the frequencies of the common I405V and TaqIB polymorphisms of the CETP gene and their relation to serum lipid and lipoprotein levels in a Turkish population. The variant allele frequencies of I405V and TaqIB polymorphisms of the CETP gene were found to be 0.38 and 0.46, respectively and similar to some of the European populations. Subjects for the VV genotype of I405V polymorphism had higher HDL-C levels than did II subjects. The covariance analysis showed that gender and triglyceride (TG) levels have an effect on the association of HDL-C and I405V polymorphism. In conclusion, our results indicate that I405V polymorphism may affect the HDL-C levels in Turkish population. The association of this polymorphism and HDL-C levels could be modified by other factors, such as gender and TG levels.