Taurine ameliorates oxidative stress of BMSCs and promotes osteogenesis in irradiated jaws

Osteoradionecrosis of the jaw (ORNJ) is a complication after head and neck radiotherapy that severely affects patients’ quality of life. Currently, an overall understanding of microenvironmental factors of ORNJ is still lacking. Here, we reveal the activation of taurine metabolism in irradiated mandibular stromal cells with scRNA-Seq and the decrease of taurine in irradiated bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) with metabolomics. Compared to the unirradiated BMSCs, the taurine uptake of irradiated BMSCs increases. The taurine concentration in peripheral blood and jaws of irradiated mice are significantly lower than the unirradiated mice. Supplementation of taurine promotes osteogenic differentiation, decreases oxidative stress and DNA damage of irradiated BMSCs. Oral administration of taurine significantly promotes survival rate of irradiated mice and promotes osteogenesis of irradiated jaws. Our study sheds light on the role of taurine during the recovery of radiation-induced jaw injury, suggesting a potential non-invasive therapeutic means to combat ORNJ.