A new multimodal paradigm for biomarkers longitudinal monitoring: a clinical application to women steroid profiles in urine and blood

Comprehensive plasma steroidomics reveals subtle alterations of systemic steroid profile in patients at different stages of prostate cancer disease

The steroid submetabolome, or steroidome, is of particular interest in prostate cancer (PCa) as the dependence of PCa growth on androgens is well known and has been routinely exploited in treatment for decades. Nevertheless, the community is still far from a comprehensive understanding of steroid involvement in PCa both at the tissue and at systemic level. In this study we used liquid chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (LC/HRMS) backed by a dynamic retention time database DynaSTI to obtain a readout on circulating steroids in a cohort reflecting a progression of the PCa. Hence, 60 relevant compounds were annotated in the resulting LC/HRMS data, including 22 unknown steroid isomers therein. Principal component analysis revealed only subtle alterations of the systemic steroidome in the study groups. Next, a supervised approach allowed for a differentiation between the healthy state and any of the stages of the disease. Subsequent clustering of steroid metabolites revealed two groups responsible for this outcome: one consisted primarily of the androgens, whereas another contained corticosterone and its metabolites. The androgen data supported the currently established involvement of a hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in the development of PCa, whereas biological role of corticosterone remained elusive. On top of that, current results suggested a need for improvement in the dynamic range of the analytical methods to better understand the role of low abundant steroids, as the analysis revealed an involvement of estrogen metabolites. In particular, 2-hydroxyestradiol-3-methylether, one of the compounds present in the disease phenotype, was annotated and reported for the first time in men.

Influence of ethanol consumption and food intake on serum concentrations of endogenous steroids

Steroid biosynthesis and biotransformation are based on a cascade of enzymatic processes being highly sensitive to various external influences. Amongst those, ethanol was shown to affect testosterone metabolism. For doping analyses, athlete steroid profiles comprise seven urinary steroid metabolites, of which relevant ratios are significantly increased following ethanol consumption. This effect is presumably based on the lack of hepatic NAD+-coenzyme as a consequence of ethanol oxidation. Only recently, testosterone (T) and androstenedione (A4) blood profiles have been introduced as additional approach for doping control. However, a potential influence of ethanol intake on testosterone biosynthesis and thus on blood steroid profiles has not been investigated so far. Therefore, steroid concentrations from 10 males and 10 females receiving an ethanol infusion up to a breath alcohol concentration of 0.5 mg/L which was hold as a plateau for two hours were conducted. Blood samples were drawn every 15 min for steroid quantification. An ethanol-dependent T/A4 increase up to 385% resulting from A4 suppression was observed in 14 volunteers. In addition, we observed sporadic A4 increases coinciding with cortisol and ACTH pulses pointing to a meal-induced adrenal stimulation. While testosterone levels in males showed diurnal variation solely, testosterone levels in some females were found to be susceptible to ethanol- and ACTH-dependent perturbations, which is thought to be due to its predominant adrenal synthesis in females. In conclusion, the results of the present study emphasize the importance of blood sampling at a sufficient time interval from food and ethanol intake. This is of interest if T and A4 are used for diagnostics in doping control.

Annual banned-substance review 16th edition-Analytical approaches in human sports drug testing 2022/2023

In this 16th edition of the annual banned-substance review on analytical approaches in human sports drug testing, literature on recent developments in this particular section of global anti-doping efforts that was published between October 2022 and September 2023 is summarized and discussed. Most recent additions to the continuously growing portfolio of doping control analytical approaches and investigations into analytical challenges in the context of adverse analytical findings are presented, taking into account existing as well as emerging challenges in anti-doping, with specific focus on substances and methods of doping recognized in the World Anti-Doping Agency's 2023 Prohibited List. As in previous years, focus is put particularly on new or enhanced analytical options in human doping controls, appreciating the exigence and core mission of anti-doping and, equally, the conflict arising from the opposingly trending extent of the athlete's exposome and the sensitivity of instruments nowadays commonly available in anti-doping laboratories.