As taurine fuels leukemia, it may also affect bone health, researchers report.
Last year, researchers found that taurine—found in energy drinks and as a supplement—promotes teh growth of leukemia stem cells.
New research expands on this work, suggesting that as taurine fuels leukemia, it becomes less available for normal cells, possibly weakening bones in mice.
Many cancer patients experiance reduced bone density and struggle wiht osteoporosis and osteopenia—and researchers believe a lack of taurine uptake could play a role.
“Leukemia cells and bone-producing cells both require taurine,” explains senior author Jeevisha Bajaj.
“If leukemia cells rapidly use taurine,they deplete taurine levels,impacting bone health.”
The study, published in Cancer Metabolism, shows that mice with leukemia had lower taurine levels in their bones and reduced bone density.
Researchers also observed that when they blocked taurine uptake in leukemia cells, the leukemia cells died, and bone density improved in the mice.
“This suggests that targeting taurine metabolism could be a potential therapeutic strategy for leukemia and bone loss,” Bajaj says.
Researchers plan to investigate whether taurine supplementation could help prevent bone loss in cancer patients.
The research comes from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Source: https://www.futurity.org/energy-drink-ingredient-leukemia-bone-health-3320442/
