Researchers link taurine metabolic enzyme to mouse weight

Making sense of metabolism, the networks of chemical reactions that keep life alive, can be a challenge because it is hard to study a single molecule in isolation. But if researchers can find enzymes that break down specific molecules, says chemical biologist Jonathan Long, they can get better insight. Drawing inspiration from cat food, researchers in Long’s laboratory at Stanford University have found an enzyme that breaks down a modified version of the amino acid taurine. Manipulating the enzyme helped them find a role for the metabolite in mouse feeding and body mass ( Nature 2024, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07801-6 ). Humans usually obtain taurine, an amino acid that is not used to make proteins, from dietary sources such as meat (and, recently, energy drinks), although it can also be made from cysteine. Researchers have found a number of secondary taurine metabolites —modified versions of the molecule—some of which have signaling roles.