Bioanalytical Detection of Steroid Abuse in Sports Based on the Androgenic Activity Measurement

• Main Authors: Pilar Martín-Escudero, Jesus A. Muñoz-Guerra, Soledad Vargas García-Tenorio, Ester Serrano-Garde, Ana Belén Soldevilla-Navarro, Nuria Cortes-Carrillo, Mercedes Galindo-Canales, Nayade del Prado, Manuel Fuentes-Ferrer, Cristina Fernández-Pérez, Peter Alexander Behnisch, Abraham Brouwer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Chemosensors
• Subjects: doping; UGT2B17 genotype; steroid profile; testosterone administration; sport; athlete biological passport
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9040/9/4/62

The anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are the most frequently consumed performance enhancing drugs (PED) in sports. In the anti-doping field, the detection of AAS is carried out by the analysis of the athlete’s urine using methodologies based on liquid/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Unfortunately, the detection of unknown compounds is not possible. BDS’s AR CALUX^® bio detection technology was studied as an indirect method to detect the administration of a single dose of testosterone (T). Twelve T and placebo single dose administered men volunteers underwent a triple-blind crossover clinical trial. The UGT2B17 deletion was present among the volunteers and evenly distributed in heterozygous (ins/del), wild-type homozygous (ins/ins), and mutated homozygous (del/del) groups. A significant statistical difference in terms of bioluminescence was observed after the testosterone (T) administration for the three types of polymorphic groups. The ratio of means between the pre- and post-T administration periods, depending on the type of polymorphism, was in group ins/ins 3.31 (CI. 95%: 2.07–5.29), group ins/del 4.15 (CI 95%: 3.05–5.67), and group del/del 2.89 (CI 95%: 2.42–3.46). The results of the study are very promising, as they may offer us the possibility of designing a detection approach that, based on intra-individual monitoring of androgenic values, in the UGT2B17 deletion type.