Andreas Breenfeldt Andersen, Jessica Almeida Oliveira, Francesco Loria, Jacob Bejder, Olivier Salamin, Tiia Kuuranne, Nikolai B Nordsborg, Nicolas Leuenberger
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Autologous blood transfusions (ABTs) are prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), yet detecting autologous blood micro-transfusions (ABMTs) remains a challenge. Due to smaller transfused volumes, ABMTs cause attenuated biomarker changes, limiting detection sensitivity within the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP). This study assessed whether mRNA expression of 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALAS2) and carbonic anhydrase 1 (CA1), measured from dried blood spots (DBS), could serve as sensitive biomarkers of ABMT. In a randomized, placebo-controlled design, 47 trained individuals (24 ♀; mean VO2peak 56 ± 7 mL·min-1·kg-1) were allocated to an ABMT group (n = 23; ♀ = 12) or placebo group (n = 24; ♀ = 12). The ABMT group donated 450 mL of blood and received a 130 mL packed red blood cell reinfusion 4 weeks later. Blood sampling occurred regularly before and after both donation and reinfusion. ALAS2 and CA1 mRNA expression from DBS, and reticulocyte percentage (RET%) from venous blood, were analyzed. Following blood donation, ALAS2, CA1, and RET% increased by 270%, 200%, and 150%, respectively. However, no consistent group-level changes were observed after ABMT. Individualized analysis identified more outliers for ALAS2 than for CA1, and blinded interpretation of individual mRNA profiles achieved > 95% sensitivity and specificity for detecting ABMT. These findings suggest that ALAS2 mRNA expression, assessed via minimally invasive DBS sampling, is a promising biomarker for identifying ABMT. This approach may enhance current anti-doping strategies by improving sensitivity to small-volume autologous transfusions that evade detection through traditional ABP biomarkers.
期刊介绍:
As the incidence of drugs escalates in 21st century living, their detection and analysis have become increasingly important. Sport, the workplace, crime investigation, homeland security, the pharmaceutical industry and the environment are just some of the high profile arenas in which analytical testing has provided an important investigative tool for uncovering the presence of extraneous substances.
In addition to the usual publishing fare of primary research articles, case reports and letters, Drug Testing and Analysis offers a unique combination of; ‘How to’ material such as ‘Tutorials’ and ‘Reviews’, Speculative pieces (‘Commentaries’ and ‘Perspectives'', providing a broader scientific and social context to the aspects of analytical testing), ‘Annual banned substance reviews’ (delivering a critical evaluation of the methods used in the characterization of established and newly outlawed compounds).
Rather than focus on the application of a single technique, Drug Testing and Analysis employs a unique multidisciplinary approach to the field of controversial compound determination. Papers discussing chromatography, mass spectrometry, immunological approaches, 1D/2D gel electrophoresis, to name just a few select methods, are welcomed where their application is related to any of the six key topics listed below.