Taurine ... drives glycolysis to promote leukaemogenesis (leukemia); Nature; Sharma, et al.; May 14, 2025

[Mary]

I hate posting this - at one time taurine helped me with severe MSG sensitivity - but apparently it can help drive the progression of leukemia:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09018-7#Abs1

https://people.com/common-energy-drink-ingredient-linked-to-blood-cancer-11735858

 

[Hip]

I came across this new finding a few days ago, but I don't think it is of general concern, only a potential issue for people with leukaemia. There is no evidence that taurine can cause leukaemia in healthy people.

The body makes taurine anyway, and you consume a few hundred milligram of taurine each day from the diet (though vegetarian diets contain virtually no taurine). Many energy drinks contain a gram of taurine.

 

[pamojja]

Mary, I have bad news for you. Asked perplexity.ai to summarize:

Nutrients That May Support Tumor Growth​

A growing body of research demonstrates that certain nutrients-when present in excess, or under specific metabolic conditions-can support tumor growth and progression. Here is an extensive, evidence-based list, including taurine, thiamine, and folate, with mechanisms and references.

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Amino Acids

• Glutamine: Central to tumor cell growth and proliferation; many cancers are "glutamine addicted" and rely on it for biosynthesis and energy15.
• Serine and Glycine: Key donors in the folate cycle for nucleotide synthesis, methylation, and redox homeostasis, all of which promote tumor progression5.
• Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs): Tumor cells upregulate BCAA transport and metabolism, supporting growth and activating mTOR signaling5.
• Tryptophan: Enhanced uptake and catabolism to kynurenine helps tumors evade immune surveillance5.
• Aspartate: Provided by stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment, supports nucleotide and protein synthesis5.
• Arginine: Many tumors are auxotrophic for arginine and depend on its uptake for growth5.
• Taurine: Newly identified as a tumor-promoting nutrient in aggressive myeloid leukemias; supports glycolysis and leukemia stem cell survival via mTOR activation[New Nature study, summarized above].

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Carbohydrates

• Glucose: Fuels aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect), supporting rapid proliferation in most cancers24.
• Fructose: Can be converted to lipids by the liver, which are then used by tumors for growth (especially in high-fructose diets)[general knowledge].

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Lipids

• Fatty Acids: Tumors utilize fatty acids for membrane synthesis, energy, and signaling; some cancers are especially dependent on exogenous lipids35.
• Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs): High intake can enhance tumor incidence, especially when antioxidant defenses are low[general knowledge].

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Vitamins and One-Carbon Metabolism

• Thiamine (Vitamin B1):
  • Low-to-moderate doses: May support tumor cell proliferation by fueling the pentose phosphate pathway and ribose synthesis for DNA/RNA69.
  • High doses: Can inhibit tumor growth by normalizing glycolysis and promoting apoptosis6.
• Folate (Vitamin B9):
  • Excess folate: Drives one-carbon and methionine metabolism, promoting tumor development and progression in some settings, such as hepatocellular carcinoma710.
  • Dual effect: Can both promote and suppress tumor formation, depending on context and timing10.
• Methionine: Required for methylation reactions; methionine metabolism is often upregulated in cancer, and dietary methionine restriction can suppress tumor growth10.

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Other Nutrients and Metabolites

• Formate: A byproduct of one-carbon metabolism, can enhance cancer cell migration and invasion7.
• Lipids from Fructose Metabolism: Serve as an energy source for tumor cells[general knowledge].

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Mechanisms by Which These Nutrients Support Tumor Growth​

• Fueling rapid cell division (nucleotides, amino acids, glucose)
• Supporting biosynthetic pathways (lipids, amino acids, vitamins)
• Maintaining redox balance (serine/glycine/folate cycle)
• Activating growth signaling pathways (mTOR via amino acids, taurine, BCAAs)
• Facilitating immune evasion (tryptophan metabolism to kynurenine)

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Summary Table​

Nutrient	Tumor-Supporting Role	Mechanism/Notes	References
Glutamine	Proliferation, biosynthesis	Central metabolic fuel	15
Serine/Glycine	Nucleotide synthesis, methylation, redox	One-carbon metabolism	5
BCAAs	Growth, mTOR activation	Uptake/metabolism upregulated in tumors	5
Tryptophan	Immune evasion	Kynurenine pathway	5
Aspartate	Nucleotide/protein synthesis	Supplied by stromal cells	5
Arginine	Growth	Auxotrophy in many tumors	5
Taurine	Glycolysis, leukemia stem cell survival	mTOR activation, niche-derived	[Nature, above]
Glucose	Energy, biosynthesis	Warburg effect	24
Fructose	Lipid synthesis	Indirect support via liver metabolism	[general knowledge]
Fatty acids/PUFAs	Membrane synthesis, energy	Uptake/metabolism upregulated	35
Thiamine (B1)	DNA/RNA synthesis, glycolysis	Dose-dependent, low supports, high inhibits	69
Folate (B9)	One-carbon/methionine metabolism, DNA synthesis	Excess promotes, dual effect	710
Methionine	Methylation, growth	Restriction can suppress tumors	10
Formate	Migration, invasion	Byproduct of one-carbon metabolism	7

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Notes​

• Many nutrients are essential for both normal and cancer cells; context, dose, and metabolic vulnerabilities determine their effects on tumor growth.
• Some nutrients (thiamine, folate) have dose-dependent or context-dependent effects, potentially both supporting and inhibiting tumor growth6910.
• The tumor microenvironment and metabolic crosstalk play a crucial role in nutrient availability and utilization458.

If you want more detail on any specific nutrient or mechanism, let me know!

Citations:​

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451945623002817
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7534637/
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8846368/
4. https://elifesciences.org/articles/89825
5. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-024-06435-w
6. https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/hanberry_bradley_s_201412_phd.pdf
7. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7616045/
8. https://www.aacrmeetingnews.org/new...nment-influence-metabolic-pathways-in-cancer/
9. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/06/980623044807.htm
10. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-022-01017-8
11. https://d-nb.info/1100731369/34
12. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5373663/

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Antwort von Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/wh...4ebeTI.qSeeJeTJIhKOv3Q?utm_source=copy_output

The good news, I take them all for 16 years, and until now had improbable remissions only. One reason might be, because I take a plethora of cancer inhibiting nutrients too.

 

[Mary]

@pamojja - Well, apparently cancer cells need all the nutrients which healthy cells need too - I think we're doomed! I would like to see though if taurine in particular contributes to leukemia, as opposed to all those other nutrients. And right now can't do that -

I am reading a very interesting book called Ravenous, by Sam Apple, about Otto Warburg, a Jewish (and incidentally gay) scientist who managed to survive in Hitler's Germany. What is fascinating are his discoveries re cancer and glucose and glycolysis. The book contains a brief history of cancer - how it was basically unknown in "undeveloped" civilizations. Only when they became westernized did their cancer rates appear and grow. And it talks about how sugar and carbohydrates feed cancer, and literally how overeating contributed to and stimulated cancer growth. I'm not quite sure if it says that overeating can actually cause cancer, but it definitely affects the metabolism of cells. I need to read more to put this in a more organized and coherent fashion but when I get to that point, I'll do a post about the book.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

how it was basically unknown in "undeveloped" civilizations.

Perhaps our expanded life spans, from things like vaccinations, shifts in diet etc, enable more cancers to develop today, than in the distant past.

And diet is really important. But so is not getting sprayed by organophosphates.

 

[Mary]

Perhaps our expanded life spans, from things like vaccinations, shifts in diet etc, enable more cancers to develop today, than in the distant past.

Actually the book addresses this argument directly - it says that many people in the undeveloped world, if they survived childhood, went on to live amazingly long and healthy lives - as long if not longer than their western counterparts, and generally were healthier than those in western socieities. it seems the western diet and sedentary habits and stress and habits of being indoors all the time and chemicals etc generally are just not that good for us.

 

[pamojja]

.. generally are just not that good for us.

Just think of the results on the human microbiome. Modern man allegedly has up to 1000 different bacterial species. Hunter-gatherer Hadza in Tanzania, already with contact with other Africans, about 2000. But a first time contacted Yanomani tribe showed up to 4000 different microbiome species! An extinction event, right here in each of us.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

it seems the western diet and sedentary habits and stress and habits of being indoors all the time and chemicals etc generally are just not that good for us.

I"m willing to believe that is true. And we stopped squatting.