Creatine Supercharges Immune Cells to Fight Cancer in New UCLA Study

Creatine is already one of the most widely used and well-researched sports supplements, valued for improving strength and athletic performance. But a new study from UCLA published in iScience reveals a potentially transformative secondary role: helping the immune system fight cancer more effectively by energizing a critical class of immune cells.

The research centers on dendritic cells, which act as coordinators of the immune response. They detect tumors and activate killer T cells — the immune system's frontline cancer destroyers. Scientists found that the gene responsible for producing the creatine transporter protein was far more active in dendritic cells that had infiltrated tumors compared to those in healthy tissue, suggesting these cells have a heightened need for creatine in the tumor environment.

When researchers engineered dendritic cells that lacked the creatine transporter, the cells survived poorly, became less active, and failed to effectively prime T cells. T cells grown alongside these creatine-deficient cells multiplied less and produced fewer immune-signaling molecules. Conversely, daily creatine injections in melanoma mouse models slowed tumor growth significantly, while increasing dendritic cell infiltration and activity within tumors. Metabolomics analysis confirmed that creatine supplementation raised intracellular ATP — the cell's primary energy currency — in dendritic cells.

This builds on earlier work from the same UCLA lab showing creatine also enhances T cell function directly, suggesting it supports the entire cancer-fighting immune infrastructure rather than just one component. Senior author Lili Yang noted this makes creatine a promising complement to modern immunotherapies, which currently benefit only 20-40% of patients.

Important caveats apply. All experiments were conducted in mice and human cell cultures — no human clinical trials have been conducted. Results from animal models frequently fail to translate directly to humans. Nonetheless, given creatine's established safety profile and wide availability, this research opens a compelling avenue for investigation into immune-boosting supplementation strategies.