Biomarker detection of rhGH doping: an excretion study

The purpose of this research is to validate the biomarker-based approach for the detection of doping with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in sport. The GH-2000 project proposed an indirect method for the detection of exogenously administered growth hormone (GH) based on the measurement of the GH-dependent markers: insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and Type III pro-collagen (P-III-P). These markers rise in a dose-dependent manner after GH application. In this study, the concentrations of IGF-I, IGF-BP3, and P-III-P in serum were determined to provide further incentives for the implementation of this detection assay in modern anti-doping programmes. This paper reports on an administration study of rhGH involving 25 Chinese male volunteers at a dose of 0.1 IU /kg/day for a continuous 14-day period. We observed that the serum IGF-I concentration increased rapidly in the rhGH treatment group and showed significantly higher levels compared to baseline between days 4 and day 16 after administration. Although the response of P-III-P to rhGH administration was delayed compared to the IGF-I axis, the P-III-P concentration remained increased for a longer period (from day 4 to day 28). Statistical analysis was carried out to establish a discriminant formula with Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) concluding that the biomarker methodology is valid and universally applicable.