Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40887900›Full record

ArticleDrug testing and analysis2025

Identification of Candidate Blood Biomarkers of Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Administration Using Targeted Polar Metabolomics by HILIC-MS/MS.

Olivier Salamin, Lejla Ramic, Raul Nicoli, Serge Rudaz, Davy Guillarme, Tiia Kuuranne

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Drug testing and analysis, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Olivier SalaminSwiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses, University Center of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0388-1352
Lejla RamicSwiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses, University Center of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Raul NicoliSwiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses, University Center of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Serge RudazSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Davy GuillarmeSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7883-5823
Tiia KuuranneSwiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses, University Center of Legal Medicine, Lausanne and Geneva, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Increasing oxygen transport through elevated hemoglobin concentration and red blood cell mass is a key objective of blood doping, commonly achieved via recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) administration or blood transfusions. While the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) offers an effective indirect tool for detecting such manipulations, its sensitivity and specificity may be limited, particularly in cases involving microdoses or confounding physiological factors. To address these limitations, the identification of novel biomarkers that complement current ABP markers is essential. This study presents a targeted metabolomics approach to discover candidate biomarkers of rHuEPO administration by analyzing polar metabolites in plasma and serum from two administration studies: one involving a single CERA injection, and the other using multiple doses of epoetin delta. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry enabled the selective and sensitive detection of a panel of polar endogenous metabolites. Following data normalization and stringent quality control, generalized least squares models were applied to evidence temporal changes in metabolite signals. Among the most responsive and concordant markers across both studies were hypoxanthine and inosine, which showed significant and marked increases following rHuEPO administration. Notably, the relative increase of these metabolites coincided with the maximum in reticulocyte percentages, reflecting maximal erythropoietic activity. As intermediates in purine metabolism, their increases are likely tied to augmented purine turnover during red blood cell production. These findings suggest that hypoxanthine and inosine are promising candidate biomarkers to complement existing ABP parameters. However, further validation is required to confirm their reliability and applicability within the ABP framework.

Indexed as

ErythropoietinMetabolomicsAdultBiomarkersChromatography, LiquidDoping in SportsHumansHydrophobic and Hydrophilic InteractionsMaleRecombinant ProteinsSubstance Abuse DetectionTandem Mass SpectrometryBiomarkersEPO protein, humanErythropoietinRecombinant Proteins

Identifiers

PMID40887900
PMCPMC12689250

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.