Mitochondria from mammalian tissues possess an elaborate system for 2+ 2+ transporting Ca across their inner membrane which consists of Ca import, 2+ via the Ca uniporter, in response to the mitochondrial membrane 2+ + potential ?? and of Ca release by an antiport system in exchange for H + 9,23 or Na (see Fig. l) . Because the uniporter is dependent upon the external 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ Ca concentration ([Ca ]), mitochondria accumulate Ca until the [Ca ] o o 2+ decreases to the level at which the uniporter activity balances the Ca efflux. 2+ The [Ca ] at which the uniporter and efflux activities are equal is defined o the "setpoint" andcorresponds to values between 0.3-3µM. 2+ Figure 1. The Ca transport system of the inner membrane of mammalian mitochondria. U, + 2+ + + uniporter. I, Na -independent efflux mechanism or Ca /2H exchanger. D, Na -dependent 2+ + efflux mechanism or Ca /2Na exchanger. PTP, permeability transition pore. FP, 11 flavoprotein. ?? membrane potential. ? pH gradient. Adapted from .

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Keynote presentation. Appreciations. Plenary presentations. Part 1: Basic aspects and peripheral actions of taurine. 1. Post-transcriptional regulation of cysteine dioxygenase in rat liver; D.L. Bella, et al. 2. The mitochondrial permeability transition and taurine; M. Palmi, et al. 3. Cloning and characterization of the promotor region of the rat taurine transporter (TAUT) gene; X. Han, et al. 4. Taurine prevents ischemia damage in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes; K. Takahashi, et al. 5. Effects of taurine and thiosulfate on the spectrophotometric properties of RNA and DNA; S.I. Baskin, et al. 6. Ionomycin restores taurine transporter activity in cyclosporin-A treated macrophages; H.W. Kim, et al. Part 2: Metabolic and nutritional aspects. 7. Daily dietary taurine intake in Japan; E. Kibayashi, et al. 8. Comparative studies on serum taurine and plasma fatty acids in human between the sea side area in Toyama, Japan and the mountain areas in inner Mongolia, China; E. Kibayashi, et al. 9. Biochemical and ultrastructural alterations in rat after hyperoxic treatment: Effect of taurine and hypotaurine; G. Pitari, et al. 10. Hypotaurine protection on cell damage by singlet oxygen; G. Pitari, et al. 11. Hypotaurine and superoxide dismutase: Protection of the enzyme against inactivation by hydrogen peroxide and peroxidation to taurine; L. Pecci, et al. 12. Dietary taurine changes ascorbic acid metabolism and cholesterol metabolism in rats fed diets containing polychlorinated biphenyls; H. Yokogoshi, et al. 13. Effects of long-term treatment with taurine in mice fed a high-fat diet: Improvement in cholesterol metabolism and vascular lipid accumulation by taurine; S. Murakami, et al. 14. Hypolipidemie effect of taurine in golden syrian hamsters; T. Takenaga, et al. 15. Taurine reduced atherosclerotic lesion development in apolipoprotein-E deficient mice; Y. Kondo, et al. 16. Does taurine play an osmolarity role during ethanol intoxication? F. Lallemand, et al. Part 3: Taurine in the CNS. 17. Osmotic sensitivity of taurine release from hippocampal neuronal and glial cells; J.E. Olson, G. Li. 18. Isovolumic regulation in nervous tissue: A novel mechanism of cell volume regulation; O. Quesada, et al. 19. New role of taurine as an osmomediator between glial cells and neurons in the rat supraoptic nucleus; N. Hussy, et al. 20. Gene expression of taurine transporter and taurine biosynthetic enzymes in hyperosmotic states: A comparative study with the expression of the genes involved in the accumulation of other osmolytes; M. Bitoun, M. Tappaz. 21. Involvement of ion channels in ischemia-induced taurine release in the mouse hippocampus; P. Saransaari, S.S. Oja. 22. Modulation of taurine release by metabotropic receptors in the developing hippocampus; P. Saransaari, S.S. Oja. 23. Extracellular taurine as a parameter to monitor cerebral insults `on-line': Time courses and mechanisms as studied in vivo; D.K. Scheller. 24. Effects of taurine and some structurally related analogues on the central mechanism of thermoregulation: A structure-activity relationship study; M. Frosini, et al. 25. Taurine-induced synap