Mass Spectrometry-Based Analysis of IGF-1 and hGH

Abstract

Mass spectrometric approaches have been used to determine various peptide hormones in sports drug testing. While insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and its synthetic analogs are qualitatively and/or quantitatively measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry after immunoaffinity purification, methods of uncovering doping rule violations with illegal applications of human growth hormone (hGH) have not yet been established using mass spectrometry-based assays. However, substantial information on the heterogeneity of hGH, splice variants and post-translational modifications with respective locations as elucidated by mass spectrometry are of utmost importance for improving currently employed immunological procedures.

Analytical characterization of NOTA-modified somatropins

“…Recently, biosimilar somatropin formulations were also globally approved [14][15][16]. Moreover, somatropin and analogues are often encountered as spurious/falselylabelled/falsified/counterfeit (SFFC) medicines [17][18][19] and drug abuses in sports [20,21], agriculture [22] and anti-aging [23] have been reported.…”

Harmonization of growth hormone measurements with different immunoassays by data adjustment

“…For accurate measurement of hGH, fundamentally different approaches are needed. Non-immunological methods, such as mass spectrometry could offer an alternative as reference method or analytical routine platform in the future (16). Second, our suggestions cannot fully exclude a bias of comparability for the diagnosis of GHD.…”

Biochemical markers of bone turnover in tibia fracture patients randomly assigned to growth hormone (GH) or placebo injections

“…New methods involving tandem mass spectrometry or proteomics are currently being investigated [29,30] , but traditionally two approaches are accentuated as possible detection methods. Besides these two approaches it has been proposed that pharmaceutical companies should add an inert fluorescent marker that would be excreted in the urine and thereby easy detectable [31].…”