A disturbing discovery. The popular ingredient of drinks carries a huge threat
American scientists have found that taurine, an amino acid, often added to energy drinks, can act as fuel for leukemia cancer cells that develop in the bone marrow. So they appeal to consumers to take this into account when deciding to buy another energy drink. However, the problem is much greater. – Our work suggests that it may be interesting to carefully consider the risk and benefits of taurine supplementation in patients with leukemia – say scientists in an article published in the letter « Nature ». Specialists from the University of Rochester in New York believe that additional taurine consumption can actually exacerbate blood cancer.
Taurine research is in the initial phase, but scientists are already excited. Although the discovery itself sounds disturbing, contrary to appearances, it can contribute to achieving better results in the treatment of leukemia. Experiments on mice and human leukemia cells have shown that blocking taurine from entering cells can slow down the progression of the disease. Scientists still want to check whether taurine can also drive the cells of other cancers, such as colorectal cancer, to multiply.
Tauryna itself is not harmful, it has a positive effect. It occurs naturally in food containing protein, such as meat or fish. This amino acid occurs not only in the bone marrow, but also in the brain, heart and muscles. Taurine is also often used in energy drinks. Now it turns out that it can be very harmful. When cancer cells eat taurine, they pass through a process called glyclysis, in which cells distribute glucose to produce energy. This goes to cancer cells that gain strength to multiply. And this can lead to exacerbation of leukemia and making it more aggressive. The authors of the study found that it was not known before that taurine may play a role developing role.
Will it be easier to treat leukemia?
However, it turns out that the discovery can allow you to fight leukemia. Scientists from the team led by Dr. Jevish Bajej report that pre -clinical research shows that experts are one step closer to finding new ways to fight leukemia, which is one of the most aggressive blood cancers. Researchers from the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester were able to block the growth of leukemia in mouse models and samples of human leukemia cells using genetic tools. This prevented taurine to enter cancer cells.
We are very excited about these studies because they show that certain actions can be a new path in the treatment of these aggressive diseases
– said Bajej, assistant professor at the Biomedical Genetics Department and a member of the Wilmot’s Research Program Microenvironment.
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A long way to scientists. Jane Liesveld, an oncologist from Wilmot, who treats people with leukemia and is a co -author of the article in « Nature », in which the results of new research are presented, she noted that scientists still need to learn a lot about how leukemia cells are reprogrammed and derive energy for development and resistance to treatment.
The work of Dr. Bajej shows that local levels of taurine in the bone marrow can increase the growth of leukemia, which suggests caution in the use of taurine supplementation in high doses
– warns Liesveld.
What next with Taurine?
The Wilmot syndrome states in their article in « Nature »: Because taurine is a common component of energy drinks and is often delivered as a supplement to relieve the side effects of chemotherapy, our work suggests that it may be interesting to carefully consider the benefits of taurine supplementation in patients with leukemia. « Future research should examine the level of taurine in people with leukemia, » says Bajaj.
The most important thing, however, is that our current data suggest that it would be helpful to develop stable and effective ways of blocking taurine before penetration into leukemia cells
– sums up the American scientist.
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