Gene Doping
With the evidence of the latest Olympic Games and the Lance Armstrong`s carreer loss, we have been currently bombarded with news which make us think about the health of our athletes. How is it possible for such a young athlete, in the Olympics, to break records as if it were such a common activity? How can a competitor to get 18 gold medals and become the biggest Olympic athlete of all times?
Would the 16 year-old Chinese Ye Shiwen be a blatant case of the unknown and feared gene doping? How about Michael Phelps? I am not accusing anyone here, I am just supposing – just to make that clear.
One of the first COI meetings with the objective of discussing the gene doping practice was in 2001, but only from 2003 did the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) start considering it a practice condemned for the sports worldwide.
What is gene doping after all?
In dopings in general the athlete ingests substances such as stimulants, ephedrine, amphetamines, narcotics, anabolic steroids and peptide hormones which increase the performance. These substances may be used through autohemotransfusion or pharmacological, chemical and physical manipulations.
In gene doping the athlete gets a transgenic DNA, which will make his/her body to produce the substance itself. Meaning, athletes would modify their genes to perform better in sports. That way there is no need to introduce foreign substances in the body - since the body itself produces them. Over time, the body becomes the athlete`s own doping supplier.
The most important candidate genes to be used illegally by athletes are:
• Erythropoietin
• VEGF
• GH and IGF-1 (insulinlike growth factor-1)
• Myostatin inhibitors
• Endorphins and enkephalins;
• Leptin;
• PPAR delta (Peroxisome Proliferator Actived Receptor delta).
To make it clearer, we will now explain some of these forms of doping.
EPO: erythropoietin is a protein produced in the kidneys and its main effect is to stimulate the hematopoiesis. Therefore, an aditional copy of this gene increases the production of red blood cells, in a way that the capacity of the oxygen transportation to the tissues is also increased. Meaning the presence of this hormone elevates hemoglobin levels in the blood. Whith that, more oxygen gets to the muscles. With oxygen abundance, energy production in aerobic activities is high, improving the athlete`s performance especially in endurance events.
VEGF: short for vascular endothelial growth factor is a protein which plays an important role in the growth of vascular endothelium. In athletes, the insertion of VEGF could generate vasculogenesis. That way the blood flow to all tissues would be increased, as well as the tissues` nutrition and oxygenation, making skeletal and cardiac muscles increase its energy production, delaying fatigue.
Myostatin inhibitors: myostatin is a protein expressed in skeletal muscle both in the embryonic period and adulthood. Its gene encodes a protein that plays an important regulatory effect on the growth of muscle fiber. Both cardiac and skeletal are one of the most promising therapies for illicit use in the sport since the great gain of muscle mass may be decisive for good performance in many cases.
IGF-1 and GH: in animal, by the introduction of the adenovirus vector gene encoding the protein IGF-1, there was an increase in protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. When the introduction of the extra IGF-1 gene was combined with weight training, hypertrophy and strength development were bigger than the ones observed in animals which had not the extra gene. This gain would be excellent for athletes who need strength, as it repairs and bulks up muscles.
How did gene doping start?
Medicine evolves daily, always with the goal of identifying cures for serious diseases. It was through these studies that this new therapeutic modality came up. This allow us to believe that it is possible to find a cure for the diseases which are predominantly genetic or hereditary (as muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, cancers, endothelial dysfunction, among others).
How to detect its collateral effect
Ways to detect the effects caused by gene doping are not yet as accurate and often expensive and time consuming - and thus almost impossible to know whether or not athletes make use of it to prevail in sports.
Despite offering a better performance, gene doping can be very dangerous. Several athletes who have been suspected of doping have suffered heart failure, for example.
Now it is about time for us to started reading more about it. After all, would gene doping really exist or is it just a wild guess?
Would the 16 year-old Chinese Ye Shiwen be a blatant case of the unknown and feared gene doping? How about Michael Phelps? I am not accusing anyone here, I am just supposing – just to make that clear.
One of the first COI meetings with the objective of discussing the gene doping practice was in 2001, but only from 2003 did the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) start considering it a practice condemned for the sports worldwide.
What is gene doping after all?
In dopings in general the athlete ingests substances such as stimulants, ephedrine, amphetamines, narcotics, anabolic steroids and peptide hormones which increase the performance. These substances may be used through autohemotransfusion or pharmacological, chemical and physical manipulations.
In gene doping the athlete gets a transgenic DNA, which will make his/her body to produce the substance itself. Meaning, athletes would modify their genes to perform better in sports. That way there is no need to introduce foreign substances in the body - since the body itself produces them. Over time, the body becomes the athlete`s own doping supplier.
The most important candidate genes to be used illegally by athletes are:
• Erythropoietin
• VEGF
• GH and IGF-1 (insulinlike growth factor-1)
• Myostatin inhibitors
• Endorphins and enkephalins;
• Leptin;
• PPAR delta (Peroxisome Proliferator Actived Receptor delta).
To make it clearer, we will now explain some of these forms of doping.
EPO: erythropoietin is a protein produced in the kidneys and its main effect is to stimulate the hematopoiesis. Therefore, an aditional copy of this gene increases the production of red blood cells, in a way that the capacity of the oxygen transportation to the tissues is also increased. Meaning the presence of this hormone elevates hemoglobin levels in the blood. Whith that, more oxygen gets to the muscles. With oxygen abundance, energy production in aerobic activities is high, improving the athlete`s performance especially in endurance events.
VEGF: short for vascular endothelial growth factor is a protein which plays an important role in the growth of vascular endothelium. In athletes, the insertion of VEGF could generate vasculogenesis. That way the blood flow to all tissues would be increased, as well as the tissues` nutrition and oxygenation, making skeletal and cardiac muscles increase its energy production, delaying fatigue.
Myostatin inhibitors: myostatin is a protein expressed in skeletal muscle both in the embryonic period and adulthood. Its gene encodes a protein that plays an important regulatory effect on the growth of muscle fiber. Both cardiac and skeletal are one of the most promising therapies for illicit use in the sport since the great gain of muscle mass may be decisive for good performance in many cases.
IGF-1 and GH: in animal, by the introduction of the adenovirus vector gene encoding the protein IGF-1, there was an increase in protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. When the introduction of the extra IGF-1 gene was combined with weight training, hypertrophy and strength development were bigger than the ones observed in animals which had not the extra gene. This gain would be excellent for athletes who need strength, as it repairs and bulks up muscles.
How did gene doping start?
Medicine evolves daily, always with the goal of identifying cures for serious diseases. It was through these studies that this new therapeutic modality came up. This allow us to believe that it is possible to find a cure for the diseases which are predominantly genetic or hereditary (as muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, cancers, endothelial dysfunction, among others).
How to detect its collateral effect
Ways to detect the effects caused by gene doping are not yet as accurate and often expensive and time consuming - and thus almost impossible to know whether or not athletes make use of it to prevail in sports.
Despite offering a better performance, gene doping can be very dangerous. Several athletes who have been suspected of doping have suffered heart failure, for example.
Now it is about time for us to started reading more about it. After all, would gene doping really exist or is it just a wild guess?
Author : Ygor Bueno Barbosa
Posted in: 10/16/2017
Last modified: 11/27/2017
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