Scientists have uncovered a new vulnerability in leukemia cells: their dependence on taurine, a molecule made in the body and found in common foods and energy drinks.
Research from the Wilmot Cancer Institute shows that cutting off taurine’s supply to leukemia cells halts their growth, revealing a potential new path for treatment.
Taurine’s Surprising Link to Leukemia
A new study published in Nature reveals a surprising role for taurine—a nutrient your body makes naturally and that’s also found in foods like meat and fish. Scientists have identified taurine as a key player in regulating certain blood cancers, including aggressive forms of leukemia.
In early-stage research, scientists at the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester were able to stop leukemia from growing in both mouse models and human cancer cells. They did this by using advanced genetic tools to block taurine from entering leukemia cells, effectively cutting off a critical resource the cancer needs to survive.
Taurine is commonly found in energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar, as well as pre-workout supplements and some protein powders. It also occurs naturally in meats, fish, and eggs.
Bone Marrow’s Role in Feeding Cancer
The study, led by Jeevisha Bajaj, PhD, uncovered that taurine is supplied not by the cancer cells themselves, but by nearby healthy cells within the bone marrow. This inner-bone environment is where myeloid cancers like leukemia first develop and spread. Since leukemia cells can’t produce taurine on their own, they hijack it from their surroundings using a specialized transporter encoded by the SLC6A6 gene.
The findings came to light as researchers mapped the complex ecosystem of the bone marrow, a longtime focus at Wilmot. Their goal is to better understand how the environment surrounding cancer cells supports disease, and how to disrupt it to develop more effective treatments.
Starving Cancer by Cutting Off Taurine
“We are very excited about these studies because they demonstrate that targeting uptake by myeloid leukemia cells may be a possible new avenue for treatment of these aggressive diseases,” said Bajaj, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Genetics and a member of Wilmot’s Cancer Microenvironment research program.
Researchers also discovered that as leukemia cells drink up taurine, it promotes glycolysis (a breakdown of glucose to produce energy) to feed cancer growth. Prior to this, the authors said, it was not known that taurine might have a cancer-promoting role.
A Broad Impact on Leukemia Types
Leukemia has several subtypes and survival rates vary. This study finds that taurine transporter expression is essential for the growth of multiple subtypes including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which all originate from blood stem cells in the bone marrow. Future studies will investigate signals from the microenvironment that promote the transition of MDS, a precursor to leukemia, to acute leukemia.
What Is Taurine and Where Does It Come From?
The non-essential amino acid is not only found naturally in the bone marrow, but also in the brain, heart, and muscles. Foods such as meats, fish, and eggs, contain taurine. It is also a key ingredient in some energy drinks and protein powders and anecdotally has been used by cancer patients.
It’s a hot area of research that’s still developing—and where context matters, Bajaj said. Last year, for example, a research article in the journal Cell, showed results of a taurine investigation into gastric cancers and found that supplements could possibly benefit some patients by boosting the immune system.
Energy Drinks, Supplements, and Cancer Risk
Jane Liesveld, MD, a Wilmot oncologist who treats people with leukemia and co-authored the Nature paper, noted that scientists still have a lot to learn about how leukemia cells are reprogrammed and draw energy to thrive and resist treatments.
“Dr. Bajaj’s work shows that local levels of taurine in bone marrow may enhance leukemia growth, suggesting caution in use of high-dose taurine supplementation,” Liesveld said.
“Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer, and we are at the very beginning of understanding metabolic effects on leukemia cells,” she added. “The prior focus has been on genetic changes, but the focus is expanding to understanding how leukemia cells are able to hijack various metabolic pathways for their own survival.”
Looking Ahead: Blocking Taurine Uptake
In conclusion, the Wilmot team states in its Nature paper: “Since taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks and is often provided as a supplement to mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy, our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the benefits of supplemental taurine in leukemia patients.”
Future studies should investigate levels of taurine in people with leukemia, Bajaj said. But most importantly: “Our current data suggest that it would be helpful to develop stable and effective ways to block taurine from entering leukemia cells,” she said.
Reference: “Taurine from tumour niche drives glycolysis to promote leukaemogenesis” by Sonali Sharma, Benjamin J. Rodems, Cameron D. Baker, Christina M. Kaszuba, Edgardo I. Franco, Bradley R. Smith, Takashi Ito, Kyle Swovick, Kevin Welle, Yi Zhang, Philip Rock, Francisco A. Chaves, Sina Ghaemmaghami, Laura M. Calvi, Archan Ganguly, W. Richard Burack, Michael W. Becker, Jane L. Liesveld, Paul S. Brookes, Joshua C. Munger, Craig T. Jordan, John M. Ashton and Jeevisha Bajaj, 14 May 2025, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09018-7
This breakthrough was made possible by a wide-ranging team effort. The research brought together experts from the Bajaj Lab, the Genomics Research Center (led by John Ashton, PhD, MBA), members of the Wilmot Cancer Microenvironment program, and the Genetics, Epigenetics and Metabolism (GEM) program. Insights from former Wilmot faculty member Craig Jordan, PhD, also helped shape the findings.
The core of the work was carried out in the Bajaj Lab by an outstanding group of early-career scientists. Co-first authors include Sonali Sharma, PhD (postdoctoral associate), Benjamin Rodems, MS (senior technician), Cameron Baker, MS (senior bioinformatics analyst), and Christina Kaszuba (PhD student).
The study received major support from several branches of the National Institutes of Health, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Additional funding came from leading cancer research organizations such as the American Society of Hematology, the Leukemia Research Foundation, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.
2 Comments
Sounds like an old Joe Jackson song.
Everything gives you cancer…
The title implies that energy drinks might be carcinogenic. The article is actually about how taurine has been found to help fuel lukemia. It is a deliberately misleading title to get more clicks.