Detection of growth hormone responsive proteins using SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry

The detection of growth hormone (GH) doping is a significant problem in elite sports. GH is secreted in a pulsatile pattern from the anterior pituitary, influenced by a variety of normal and pathophysiological conditions. Exogenous recombinant hGH is virtually indistinguishable from the predominant naturally occurring isoform and is cleared from the body within 24 h. Although GH is on the World Anti-doping Agency list of banned substances, the detection of GH abuse remains challenging. This article gives an overview of the potential application of surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometry to examine proteomic changes following GH administration, using both serum and white blood cell extracts as samples for analysis. Results to date indicate that proteomic changes observed following GH administration have the potential to yield novel biomarker sets for the detection of GH abuse.