# Taurine as an Early-Phase Disease-Modifying Candidate for Alzheimer’s Disease

**Authors:** Muhammad Kamal Hossain, Hyung-Ryong Kim

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/ijms27041871 · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2026-02-15

## TL;DR

Taurine, a naturally occurring compound, may help prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease by targeting multiple early pathological processes.

## Contribution

The paper highlights taurine as a novel, multi-target neuroprotective candidate for early-phase Alzheimer’s disease intervention.

## Key findings

- Taurine modulates amyloid-β aggregation and reduces oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress.
- Taurine preserves mitochondrial function and suppresses neuroinflammatory signaling in Alzheimer’s disease.
- Taurine stabilizes synaptic function and shows potential as an upstream intervention for AD prevention.

## Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is driven by converging pathological processes, including amyloid-β accumulation, tau dysfunction, synaptic failure, and chronic neuroinflammation, which emerge decades before clinical onset. Growing evidence supports the concept that early, upstream neuroprotective interventions may meaningfully alter disease trajectory in both sporadic and familial AD. Taurine, an endogenously abundant and clinically safe neuromodulator, has re-emerged as a promising multi-target regulator of AD-relevant pathways. Accumulating mechanistic data indicate that taurine modulates Aβ aggregation, attenuates oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress, preserves mitochondrial homeostasis, suppresses neuroinflammatory signaling, and stabilizes synaptic function, positioning it as a promising upstream intervention strategy in AD. This review synthesizes current evidence supporting taurine’s pleiotropic neuroprotective actions and discusses its translational potential as an early-stage, low-risk intervention to delay or prevent AD progression.

## Linked entities

- **Proteins:** MAPT (microtubule associated protein tau)
- **Chemicals:** taurine (PubChem CID 1123)
- **Diseases:** Alzheimer’s disease (MONDO:0004975)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** Nrf1 (nuclear respiratory factor 1) [NCBI Gene 18181] {aka D6Ertd415e}, SLC8A1 (solute carrier family 8 member A1) [NCBI Gene 6546] {aka NCX1}, CREB1 (cAMP responsive element binding protein 1) [NCBI Gene 1385] {aka CREB, CREB-1}, Ddit3 (DNA-damage inducible transcript 3) [NCBI Gene 29467] {aka CHOP, CHOP-10, Chop10, Gadd153, RM4}, Hmox1 (heme oxygenase 1) [NCBI Gene 15368] {aka D8Wsu38e, HO-1, HO1, Hemox, Hmox, Hsp32}, Syn1 (synapsin I) [NCBI Gene 20964] {aka Syn-1, Syn1-S}, Sirt1 (sirtuin 1) [NCBI Gene 93759] {aka SIR2L1, Sir2, Sir2a, Sir2alpha}, ACHE (acetylcholinesterase (Yt blood group)) [NCBI Gene 43] {aka ACEE, ARACHE, N-ACHE, YT}, Bcl2 (BCL2, apoptosis regulator) [NCBI Gene 24224] {aka Bcl-2}, Casp3 (caspase 3) [NCBI Gene 25402] {aka CPP32-beta, Lice, Yama}, Fis1 (fission, mitochondrial 1) [NCBI Gene 66437] {aka 2010003O14Rik, Ttc11}, Ache (acetylcholinesterase) [NCBI Gene 83817], Il6 (interleukin 6) [NCBI Gene 24498] {aka ILg6, Ifnb2}, Stat1 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 1) [NCBI Gene 25124] {aka DD6G4-4}, Opa1 (OPA1, mitochondrial dynamin like GTPase) [NCBI Gene 74143] {aka 1200011N24Rik, lilr3, mKIAA0567}, Tfam (transcription factor A, mitochondrial) [NCBI Gene 21780] {aka Hmgts, mtTFA, tsHMG}, MAPT (microtubule associated protein tau) [NCBI Gene 4137] {aka DDPAC, FTD1, FTDP-17, MAPTL, MSTD, MTBT1}, Bax (BCL2 associated X, apoptosis regulator) [NCBI Gene 24887], Tnf (tumor necrosis factor) [NCBI Gene 24835] {aka RATTNF, TNF-alpha, Tnfa}, Crmp1 (collapsin response mediator protein 1) [NCBI Gene 12933] {aka CRMP-1, DRP-1, Dpysl1, ULIP-3, Ulip3}, Dlg4 (discs large MAGUK scaffold protein 4) [NCBI Gene 13385] {aka Dlgh4, PSD-95, PSD95, SAP90, SAP90A}, APP (amyloid beta precursor protein) [NCBI Gene 351] {aka AAA, ABETA, ABPP, AD1, APPI, CTFgamma}, Mpo (myeloperoxidase) [NCBI Gene 303413], PSEN1 (presenilin 1) [NCBI Gene 5663] {aka ACNINV3, AD3, CMD1U, FAD, PS-1, PS1}, Il1b (interleukin 1 beta) [NCBI Gene 24494] {aka IL-1F2}, BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) [NCBI Gene 627] {aka ANON2, BULN2}, Psen1 (presenilin 1) [NCBI Gene 19164] {aka Ad3h, PS-1, PS1, S182}, DDIT3 (DNA damage inducible transcript 3) [NCBI Gene 1649] {aka AltDDIT3, C/EBPzeta, CEBPZ, CHOP, CHOP-10, CHOP10}, Syp (synaptophysin) [NCBI Gene 20977] {aka A230093K24Rik, Syn, p38}, Trem2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) [NCBI Gene 83433] {aka TREM-2, Trem2a, Trem2b, Trem2c}, Ppargc1a (peroxisome proliferative activated receptor, gamma, coactivator 1 alpha) [NCBI Gene 19017] {aka A830037N07Rik, Gm11133, PGC-1, PPARGC-1-alpha, Pgc-1alpha, Pgc1}, EIF2AK3 (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 3) [NCBI Gene 9451] {aka PEK, PERK, WRS}, Nfe2l2 (nuclear factor, erythroid derived 2, like 2) [NCBI Gene 18024] {aka Nrf2}, Hspa5 (heat shock protein family A (Hsp70) member 5) [NCBI Gene 25617] {aka BIP, GRP 78, GRP78}, App (amyloid beta precursor protein) [NCBI Gene 11820] {aka Abeta, Abpp, Adap, Ag, Cvap, E030013M08Rik}, Atf6 (activating transcription factor 6) [NCBI Gene 304962], EIF2A (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2A) [NCBI Gene 83939] {aka CDA02, EIF-2A, MST089, MSTP004, MSTP089}
- **Diseases:** neurofibrillary tangles (MESH:D055956), neuroinflammation (MESH:D000090862), synaptic degeneration (MESH:D012183), hypoxia (MESH:D000860), memory impairment (MESH:D008569), cytotoxicity (MESH:D064420), amyloid plaque (MESH:D058225), tissue injury (MESH:D017695), cognitive decline (MESH:D003072), TBI (MESH:D000070642), ARIA (MESH:C564543), PTSD (MESH:D013313), metabolic disorders (MESH:D008659), neuroaxonal injury (MESH:D019150), neurotoxic (MESH:D020258), Alzheimer (MESH:D000544), Synaptic dysfunction (MESH:C536122), metabolic failure (MESH:D051437), neuronal dysfunction (MESH:D009461), brain atrophy (MESH:C566985), Mitochondrial dysfunction (MESH:D028361), dementia (MESH:D003704), amyloid (MESH:C000718787), Parkinson's disease (MESH:D010300), vascular dementia (MESH:D015140), cognitive symptoms (MESH:D019954), hypoxic (MESH:D002534), calcium (MESH:D002128), cardiovascular and metabolic disorders (MESH:D024821), synapse loss (MESH:D016388), Inflammatory (MESH:D007249), injury to (MESH:D014947), neurodegeneration (MESH:D019636), neuronal (MESH:D009410), cerebral amyloid (MESH:D016657)
- **Chemicals:** celecoxib (MESH:D000068579), calcium (MESH:D002118), ROS (MESH:D017382), aducanumab (MESH:C000600266), amino sulfonic acid (MESH:C005741), hypochlorous acid (MESH:D006997), lecanemab (MESH:C000612089), FDG (MESH:D019788), amino acids (MESH:D000596), glutamate (MESH:D018698), rofecoxib (MESH:C116926), TauCl (MESH:C043410), NAD+ (MESH:D009243), memantine (MESH:D008559), gabazine (MESH:C049853), spermine (MESH:D013096), sodium (MESH:D012964), potassium (MESH:D011188), lipid (MESH:D008055), isoflurane (MESH:D007530), MPTP (MESH:D015632), strychnine (MESH:D013331), naproxen (MESH:D009288), donepezil (MESH:D000077265), ThT (MESH:C121030), ATP (MESH:D000255), galantamine (MESH:D005702), rivastigmine (MESH:D000068836), Taurine (MESH:D013654), 5XFAD (-), hydrogen peroxide (MESH:D006861)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Mus musculus (house mouse, species) [taxon 10090], Rattus norvegicus (brown rat, species) [taxon 10116]

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## References

116 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12940738/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12940738