Gene doping for beginners

Genes are the building bricks of the human body. Every human being is composed of around 30.000 genes which are pieces of information coded on a segment of DNA responsible for encoding the individual body’s abilities to express different proteins.

Genetic engineering, gene therapy or genetic modification are different names for the technique used when functioning genes are inserted into cells to correct a genetic erroror to alter the function of the cells.

Research into the possibilities of genetic engineering is first and foremost carried out in medical science where the potential benefits of the new technology are most obvious. But genetic engineering also has applications in sport.

In 2003, IOC added gene doping to its List of Prohibited Substances and Methods. Gene doping is defined as ‘the non-therapeutic use of genes, genetic elements and/or cells that have the capacity to enhance athletic performance’.

Four ways to modify genes In the article Selected champions – Making winners in the age of genetic technology in the anthology Values in Sport Associate Professor of Practical Philosophy at Gothenburg University, Christian Munthe, lists four ways in which the techniques of genetic modification may be used in order to increase athletic skills and achievements in sport.

GenomicsThis application of genetic technology does not involve an actual genetic modification of the athlete, but it makes use of the knowledge about genetics to develop more effective ways of enhancing performance by using drugs or optimising training methods.

An example could be the development of a synthetic version of the protein involved in muscle growth called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).  Stimulated by growth hormone, the proteine would provide the athlete with a greater capacity for muscle strength and speed up recovery in case of a muscle injury.

Somatic cell modificationThis is an approach comparable to the ways in which athletes currently use doping methods.

Somatic cells (non-hereditary cells making up for instance blood, muscle tissue or different organs) are genetically modified in a way that meets the physical demands in strenuous athletic activity.

An example could be red blood cells modified to carry greater amounts of oxygen thereby enhancing endurance, comparable to the usual effect of EPO or blood doping.

Germ-line modificationWith this method the genetic modification becomes far more specific and pervasive for the human organism.

The theory is that it is possible to alter the hereditary cells in the body very early in life (in sperm, fertilised eggs or within few days of conception) before the cells become specialised and express the individuality coded in the genes.

It is the same theory that underpins cloning and only fantasy stops us from imagining the potential outcome of the technology such as the horror scenario of a hybrid-athlete with the speed as a cheetah, a jump as a kangaroo and the strength of a gorilla painted by Australian scientist Robin Parisotto in his book Blood Sports.

Genetic pre-selectionA non-invasive method to assess an individual’s suitability for sport based on information of genotype conducted at embryonic- or infantile stage.

This is a technique which has been routinely employed in the management of genetic diseases for many years but can also be applied in the context of sport.

For associations and clubs working with programmes for talented young athletes it is an excellent tool to de-select those whose genome makes it doubtful that they will ever reach international elite level.

The specific methods to carry out the genetic modification are still imprecise and at the present time not ready to be used in human organisms.

Transfer of genetic material The genetic material is transmitted from one organism to another carried by a virus – a ‘viral vector’ – that infects the receiving organism with the new genetic material.

There are two different kinds of ‘viral vectors’: a retrovirus and an adenovirus, which differ in the way the virus is taken up in the body and its efficiency in transporting the new DNA into the organism.

In his book Genetically Modified Athletes, Dr. Andy Miah from University of Paisley, concludes that the retrovirus is most effective forex vivo (outside the body) gene transfer, where the cells to be modified are taken out and being transformed before they are returned to the organism again.

In comparison the adenovirus, which involves inserting functional copies of a gene is most effective in in vivo (inside the body) transfer.

Genetic engineering tested on mice but not humansThe specific methods to carry out the genetic modification are still imprecise and at the present time not ready to be used in human organisms as the application of the gene transfer technology to human subjects is still not medically safe. 

The outcome might be totally ineffective and potentially dangerous and lead to severe negative side effects. It is unknown exactly how the virus and the newly formed DNA will work throughout the body.

If for instance the regulation of the gene for producing EPO is enhanced – and subsequently cannot be shut off properly -  the blood will begin to thicken which eventually could cause strokes and heart attacks.

In an article in the New York Times, Dr. Thomas Murray, president of the HastingsCenter, a biomedical ethics research institute in Garrison, New York, likens the technology of genetic engineering to “firing at the bull’s-eye of a target with a spray of shotgun pellets. It is not known exactly where the virus and DNA go when injected, how they get where they are going or what the body’s immune response will be.”

The techniques are developed and tested on mice and monkeys but the future of its application to athletic enhancement is yet uncertain.

The big question is whether any athlete, in his or her quest for superiority, titles and records, is willing to play the role as human ‘guinea pig’ without knowing the outcome of the modification in detail.