A DNA-based method for detecting homologous blood doping
- PDF / 555,913 Bytes
- 9 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 16 Downloads / 214 Views
RESEARCH PAPER
A DNA-based method for detecting homologous blood doping Irina Manokhina & James L Rupert
Received: 29 March 2013 / Revised: 28 May 2013 / Accepted: 5 June 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract Homologous (or allogeneic) blood doping, in which blood is transferred from a donor into a recipient athlete, is the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to increase red cell mass (hematocrit) and therefore the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Although thought to have been rendered obsolete as a doping strategy by the increased use of rhEPO to increased hematocrits, there is evidence that athletes are still using this potentially dangerous method to improve endurance performance. Current testing for homologous blood doping is based on identification of mixed populations of red blood cells by flow cytometry. This paper proposes that homologous blood doping could also be tested for by high-resolution qPCR-based genotyping and demonstrates that assays could be developed that would detect second populations of cells even if the “donor” blood was depleted of 99 % of the DNA-containing leukocytes. Issues of test specificity and sensitivity are discussed as well as some of the ethical considerations that would have to be addressed if athletes’ genotypes were to be used by the anti-doping authorities to prevent, or detect, the use of prohibited ergogenic practices. Keywords Blood doping . Genotyping . Polymorphisms . Doping control
Introduction Homologous (or allogeneic) blood doping, in which blood is transferred from a donor into a recipient athlete, is the easiest, Published in the topical collection Anti-doping Analysis with guest editor Christopher Harrison. I. Manokhina : J. L. Rupert (*) School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, 6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada e-mail: [email protected]
cheapest, and fastest way to increase red cell mass (hematocrit) and therefore the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood. Although the potential ergogenic effects of blood transfusion have been known for decades (i.a. [4, 15]), the application of the process to boost athletic capacity is believed to have begun in the late 1960s, after the Mexico City Olympics (held at ∼2,240 m) popularized the belief that higher hematocrits conferred superior performance [3]. The practice was prohibited by the IOC and a number of sports federations soon after the 1984 games in Los Angeles [2]. Although donors are matched to recipients for ABO blood type, homologous blood doping remains dangerous for two reasons: (1) there is a risk of transfer of blood borne disease, such as hepatitis or HIV-AIDS and (2) excessively high levels of red blood cells (RBCs) increase blood viscosity, which in turn increases the workload on the athlete’s heart. The latter concern can be alleviated by hematocrit cutoffs that stop athletes from competing if RBC counts exceed a certain value; however, the practice of homologous blood doping remains inherently unsafe, especially if the transfusions are do
Data Loading...
