In vitro evaluation of the effects of anti-fungals, benzodiazepines and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the glucuronidation of 19-norandrosterone: implications on doping control analysis

We have studied whether the phase II metabolism of 19-norandrosterone, the most representative metabolite of 19-nortestosterone (nandrolone), can be altered in the presence of other drugs that are not presently included on the Prohibited List of the World Anti-Doping Agency. In detail, we have evaluated the effect of non-prohibited drugs belonging to the classes of anti-fungals, benzodiazepines, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the glucuronidation of 19-norandrosterone. In vitro assays based on the use of either pooled human liver microsomes or specific recombinant isoforms of uridine diphosphoglucuronosyl-transferase were designed and performed to monitor the formation of 19-norandrosterone glucuronide from 19-norandrosterone. Determination of 19-norandrosterone (free and conjugated fraction) was performed by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry after sample pretreatment consisting of an enzymatic hydrolysis (performed only for the conjugated fraction), liquid/liquid extraction with tert-butylmethyl ether, and derivatization to form the trimethylsilyl derivative. In parallel, a method based on reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry in positive electrospray ionization with acquisition in selected reaction monitoring mode was also developed to identify the non-prohibited drugs considered in this study. Incubation experiments have preliminarily shown that the glucuronidation of 19-norandrosterone is principally carried out by UGT2B7 (39%) and UGT2B17 (31%). Inhibition studies have shown that the yield of the glucuronidation reaction is reduced in the presence of the anti-fungals itraconazole, ketoconazole, and miconazole, of the benzodiazepine triazolam and of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs diclofenac and ibuprofen, while no alteration was recorded in the presence of all other compounds considered in this study. Copyright (C) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.