May 21, 2025 12:00:00

Taurine, a compound found in energy drinks, may promote the growth of leukemia cells

Taurine is an amino acid that is naturally produced in the human body and is abundant in shellfish, fish, and crustaceans. Taurine is said to have effects such as fatigue recovery, and is often added to energy drinks and protein powders. A new study has found that leukemia cells steal taurine from bone marrow and use it to grow.

Taurine from tumor niche drives glycolysis to promote leukaemogenesis | Nature
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09018-7

A Downside of Taurine: It Drives Leukemia Growth | URMC Newsroom
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/a-downside-of-taurine-it-drives-leukemia-growth

Common Energy Drink Additive Could Be Fueling Growth in Leukemia : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/common-energy-drink-additive-could-be-fueling-growth-in-leukemia

A research team at the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester in the United States has been studying the bone marrow microenvironment, a multifunctional network within the bone marrow, for many years in order to improve the treatment of blood cancers, including leukemia.

The research team, led by Assistant Professor Jeevisha Bajaj , the first author of the paper, was mapping what was happening within the bone marrow and its ecosystem and discovered that taurine is produced in the bone marrow microenvironment.

In addition, it was found that leukemia cells use the taurine transporter (SLC6A6) to deplete taurine from the bone marrow and promote their own glucose breakdown (glycolysis) , which is reported to cause the leukemia cells to grow more rapidly. Prior to this study, taurine was not known to play a role in promoting cancer growth.

The team also used genetic tools to block cancer cells' access to taurine, then transplanted human or mouse leukemia cells into the mice, and found that the growth of the leukemia cells was suppressed.

This study showed that taurine transporters are necessary for proliferation in leukemias that originate from blood stem cells in the bone marrow, such as

acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia , as well as myelodysplastic syndrome , which is considered a precursor to leukemia.

'We are very excited because these studies indicate that targeting taurine uptake by myeloid leukemia cells may open new avenues for treating these aggressive diseases,' said Bajaj.

'Dr. Bajaj's study indicates that local taurine levels in the bone marrow may promote leukemia growth and suggests that high-dose taurine supplementation should be used with caution,' said study co-author Dr. Jane Liesveld , an oncologist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

The concern here is the high doses of taurine found in energy drinks, but more research is needed to confirm the link between taurine and leukemia, and we don't know much about how it works in the human body or whether taurine outside the bone marrow has an effect.

In addition, a 2024 study reported that taurine benefited some stomach cancer patients by strengthening their immune systems, so the effects may vary depending on the type of cancer.

'Taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks and is often provided as a supplement to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. Our study therefore suggests that the potential benefits of taurine supplements in leukemia patients may merit careful consideration,' the team concluded in their paper.

'Future studies should look at taurine levels in leukemia patients,' Bajaj said. 'Our current data suggest that developing a stable and effective way to block taurine from entering leukemia cells could be a therapeutic option.'