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The
Tour de France. The Olympics. Major League Baseball.  All these events have one
glaring black-eye for their prestigious athletes (no, not boredom). Doping.
Anabolic steroids are the most
common form of performance enhancing drugs. Mimicking testosterone in the body,
steroids are a catalyst for protein synthesis. While larger, quickly-rebuilt
muscles are a distinct advantage in the sporting world, they are not the future
of illegal supplementation. It is suspected that the new era of doping is
coming, that of gene doping.
Right Arnie? ...via Vizyon Filmleri
The Australian company Genetic Testing Corp. offers a test
to detect the gene ACTN3 which makes a type of fast-twitch protein essential
for sprinters and other athletes who need explosive acceleration. This gene can
also mutate into R577X, which makes the individual better suited for distance
running than sprinting.
 Rendered ACTN3...via Wikimedia
If DNA testing for these genes is already available, some
scientists believe gene therapy isn't far behind. On some levels, gene doping has
already been happening. Researchers have been able to deliver IGF-1, a
pseudo-insulin producing gene that has significant anabolic effects in adults.
By injecting the genes into an innocuous virus, the virus acts as the courier
for the gene where it delivers it to the host cell.
Considerable risk is present for the doped athlete. Steroids
often result in increased body hair and acne, a deeper voice, and if used
extensively, damage to the body's natural attempts to repair damaged tissue. Gene
therapy comes with other serious side effects. In 2002 and 2007, separate cases
of children with x-linked severe combined immunodeficiency, or 'bubble-boy'
syndrome, contracted leukemia after cells that did not contribute to their
diseases were targeted in gene therapy. Furthermore, there is not a large
enough sample to determine long-term adverse effects of gene doping which
permanently changes a cell's DNA structure.
 Gene therapy is no hope for this 2001 flop...
For
the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, IOC officials were concerned with the use of
Repoxygen, which is a type of gene therapy that prompts the body's production
of erythropoietin (EPO) when the body has insufficient oxygen supply. Creating
more red blood cells to transport O2, EPO would be beneficial for a number of
athletes.
Repoxygen--and gene therapy as a whole--are banned by the
World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA, headquartered in Montreal, oversees the PED use
in many international competitions and helps private leagues, like the NFL, NHL
and FIFA, establish doping protocol. WADA specifically prohibits gene doping:
"The non-therapeutic use of cells, genes, genetic elements,
or of the modulation of gene expression, having the capacity to enhance
athletic performance, is prohibited."
Testing for gene doping, until about 18 months ago, proved difficult.
It was originally thought that it would only be possible to determine gene
doping through an expensive gene transfer test. WADA invested $1 million to
investigate gene doping tests. In late 2010 (blah blah blah, old news, got ya),
German scientists developed a way to differentiate transgenic DNA from the
natural DNA of a person. Gene doping can now be done with simple blood tests.
 Pictured: German scientists...via Pitt Ren
Yet, that does little to discourage potential cheaters.
Typical PEDs are widely measurable, yet athletes continue to use them. Gene
doping, let alone gene doping tests, are less common. The so called 'money
leagues'--professional sports with extreme revenues and salaries (MLB, NFL,
EPL)--do not investigate gene doping, and their athletes are the most apt to
afford such measures.
Where does that leave the future of athletic equality? In
the hands of the athlete-- the same as it has always been. Ruthless competitors
are always looking for that physical edge; that one trait that sets them a bar
above. Just as the spectators desire a balance in an athletic competition, the
athletes have a balance themselves: cheat and gain glory for themselves and
their country, or get caught and ruin a reputation forever. I think we should
ask Barry
Bonds what he thinks.
 Or maybe not...via MLB
Resources
Science Daily - Gene Doping Detectable
Wikipedia - Repoxygen; WADA
WADA & The 2008 Prohibited List
Vizard, Frank, and Robert Lipsyte. Why a Curveball Curves. ; The Incredible Science of Sports. 2009. Print.
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