Detection of Exogenous Growth Hormone (GH) Administration by Monitoring Ratio of 20kDa- and 22kDa-GH in Serum and Urine

• Published in: ENDOCRINE JOURNAL 2000, Vol.47(1), pp.97-101
• Main Authors: MOMOMURA, SHINICHI, HASHIMOTO, YOSHIHIDE, SHIMAZAKI, YUKIO, IRIE, MINORU
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 20kDa-GH; 22kDa-GH; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - blood; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - drug therapy; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated - urine; Doping; ELISA; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - standards; Growth Hormone - blood; Growth Hormone - chemistry; Growth Hormone - therapeutic use; Growth Hormone - urine; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Weight; Osmolar Concentration; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0918-8959; 1348-4540
• DOI: 10.1507/endocrj.47.97

We previously demonstrated that individual subjects have fairly constant ratios of serum concentrations of 20kDa- (20K) and 22kDa-GH (22K). The aim of this study is to demonstrate the possibility of utilizing the changes in the ratio of 20K/22K for detecting the exogenous administration of 22K. A male patient with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (age 51) received 22K (4U, s.c.) every other day. The concentrations of 20K and 22K in serum and urine were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays before and after administration. The administration of 22K increased total GH concentration, and markedly decreased the ratio of 20K/22K in serum, especially 2-10h after the administration. From calculations, it became clear that the concentration of exogenous 22K reached a peak between 2-4h after the administration and decreased to a negligible level after 24h. The ratio of 20K/22K in the 0-24h urine was 5 times lower than that in the 24-48h urine. These data suggest that, by monitoring the ratio of 20K/22K in serum or urine, it is possible to determine whether or not GH has been externally administered and to calculate the serum GH that has been administered.