Impact of UGT2B17 gene deletion on the steroid profile of an athlete

• Published in: Physiological reports 2015-12, Vol.3 (12), p.e12645-n/a
• Main Authors: Martín‐Escudero, Pilar, Muñoz‐Guerra, Jesús, Del Prado, Nayade, Galindo Canales, Mercedes, Fuentes Ferrer, Manuel, Vargas, Soledad, Soldevilla, Ana B., Serrano‐Garde, Ester, Miguel‐Tobal, Francisco, Maestro de las Casas, Marisa, Fernandez‐Pérez, Cristina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: doping; Exercise; Original Research; steroid profile; UGT2B17 genotype
• ISSN: 2051-817X; 2051-817X
• DOI: 10.14814/phy2.12645

The measurement of the testosterone to epitestosterone ratio (T/E ratio) in urine is often used as a marker for testosterone administration in the doping control field. This study examines the frequencies of the different expression forms of the UGT2B17 gene, and assesses their effects on this marker in volunteer subjects. The sample for this descriptive study was composed of male and female athletes aged between 16 and 55 years old who practiced different sports disciplines. All participants underwent a sports‐medical physical examination, and subsequently provided 10 urine samples consecutively over a period of 48 h. The dependent variable examined was T/E and the main independent variable was the UGT2B17 gene polymorphism. During 1 year, 1410 urine samples were obtained from 141 athletes. The frequencies of the three genotypes were as follows: wt homozygotes (ins/ins) 48.2% (n = 68), mutant homozygotes (del/del) 12.1% (n = 17), and heterozygotes (ins/del) 39.7% (n = 56). Genotype distributions varied significantly (P