Genetically motivated Champions

Natalia Mazurik, STRF.ruThere is hope that the Russian team will break all records for gold medals at the Sochi Olympics.

The All-Russian Research Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, together with NPF DNA Technology and STC Technomed, are creating unique technologies with which athletes can be literally programmed to win. Today it has already been proven that champion athletes have unique qualities, which are determined, among other things, by their genotype. Scientists are trying to find out what factors their abilities depend on and whether it is possible to predict the achievement of high sports results by a particular person.

In the spring of last year, the project "New technologies for improving life support based on the results of a comprehensive examination of athletes" was launched, implemented within the framework of the Federal Target Program of the Ministry of Education and Science. The goal of the project is to learn more about the potential and limits of the capabilities of not only outstanding athletes, but also ordinary people. As a result of the project, a set of methods for improving performance will be developed taking into account individual genetic characteristics.

The Victory GeneSpecialists of the Institute of Physical Education and Sports study the state of the cardiovascular and central nervous system of athletes, energy mechanisms, analyze the biochemical composition of blood and genetic parameters.

The data obtained at rest are compared with those recorded at the time of the greatest physical activity. The resulting overall picture allows us to conclude which factors and in which turn determine sports success. Based on this analysis, specific recommendations are developed for each athlete, following which he can improve his performance and maximize the use of the body's reserves.

"Our project is primarily designed for professionals. But the recommendations can be extended to wider segments of the population in order to improve the quality of life of ordinary people," says Pavel Kvashuk, First Deputy director of the Institute of Physical Education and Sports. — Research should take us to a completely new level of knowledge about a person. The maximum task is to learn how to identify the potential capabilities of each person in order to identify the physical inclinations and inclinations of the child at the earliest age. Thus, it will be possible to determine who, due to natural data, is able to achieve success in professional sports, and who should limit themselves to physical education so as not to harm their health. We will develop health-improving directions with the help of which a person will be able to achieve such a physical condition that is most comfortable for him. After all, each of us has purely individual reserves and opportunities. And you can not demand from your body more than what is inherent in it. Otherwise, you can simply undermine the forces."

Research within the framework of the project will help to develop a system for selecting applicants not only for the sports environment, but also for other professions associated with increased requirements for certain physical and psycho-emotional qualities of a person, for example, military, rescuers, ambulance doctors.

The geniuses of sports in each of usOne of the main directions of the project is genetic analysis.

Scientists are trying to figure out how the DNA of a successful athlete differs from the DNA of an ordinary person. The DNA bank of outstanding athletes, which has already been collected, will help to cope with this difficult task.

Natalia Malyuchenko, Associate Professor of the Department of Bioengineering of the MSU Faculty of Biology, believes that scientists are waiting for interesting discoveries: "Our laboratory analyzes the so—called genetic markers - signs that are associated with sports success. It is known that success is accompanied by endurance, strength and such psycho-emotional qualities as a high desire to win, sports anger, some types of aggression, a reduced level of anxiety. We investigate these qualities and the frequency distribution of genetic variants in the DNA of elite athletes and ordinary people. The prevalence of some variant in professional athletes suggests that this gene is important for sports. I would like to note that we will not consider the data of the DNA analysis of athletes as a single whole, since gaming, cyclic and complex coordination sports require different qualities and abilities."

The final stage of genetic analysis is the study of biochemical parameters of athletes. There are about a hundred indicators that scientists study in detail. "We analyze the content of certain components in the blood of athletes at different periods of their lives: during the training process, before responsible competitions, during the competition itself and after it," says Natalia Malyuchenko. — Based on this analysis, conclusions are drawn about which sports qualities are determined by the genetic component, and for which environmental factors are also important. We have already found out, for example, that there is a “useful sports aggression” that helps to overcome difficulties and achieve success. This quality is 50-70 percent determined by the presence of the corresponding genes. And the coefficient of heritability of indicators of the cardiovascular system reaches 90 percent."

If the heritability coefficient of a particular quality is 80-90 percent, laboratory specialists thoroughly understand which genes are responsible for their formation in order to predict the potential capabilities of the organism in advance. "When it comes to big sports, it is necessary to take into account genetic data, the potential inherent in a person: indicators of physical strength, endurance, stress resistance. With the help of these data, it is possible to predict possible diseases, which is also important. If, for example, a child is prone to aggression, phobias, there is no need to aggravate them — it is certainly not worth giving him to the boxing section," Pavel Kvashuk believes.

Unique technologies plus a new deviceAs a result of the project, a set of methods for improving performance and self-healing capabilities will be developed, taking into account individual genetic characteristics of a person.

Scientists will have a chance to test these techniques in practice almost immediately: "For the Sochi Olympics, we will develop specific recommendations for the athletes of our national team, with the help of which they will be able to achieve excellent results," Natalia Malyuchenko sums up.

The technical result of the work will be a unique device designed to carry out genetic analysis in the shortest possible time.

It is being developed by NPF DNA Technology, where a mock-up of the device has already been created, separate key modules have been designed. A large-scale survey of Russian athletes is expected to begin in 2009.

It is known that genetic features largely determine the capabilities of an athlete. Here are just a few examples of research on this topic:Russian scientists from the Sports Genetics laboratory of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Physical Culture conducted a genealogical analysis of a family in which all male representatives were professionally engaged in football.

Based on the data of this analysis and genetic testing of football players, it was assumed that at least three genetic markers are significant for hereditary predisposition to football. These are the alleles PPARA C, UCP2 Val and VEGF 634C, which affect the energy of muscle activity and the provision of skeletal muscles and myocardium with oxygen.

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Russian and American scientists have identified gene polymorphisms that affect muscle mass and strength, as well as the relief of muscle groups. It was found that the following gene alleles provide advantages in the development of strength and muscle mass gain: ACTN3 R (high contractile characteristics of muscle fibers, the predominance of fast muscle fibers), ACE I (optimal vascular tone, the possibility of increasing strength by seven times, the predominance of fast muscle fibers), AMPD1 C (rapid replenishment of ATP reserves during exercise), AR L (high concentration of endogenous testosterone in the body), MYF6 C (high anaerobic capacity), PGC1A Ser (high anaerobic capacity), PPARG Ala (increased utilization of insulin), UCP2 Val (high metabolic efficiency of muscle activity). Bodybuilders were also found to have a low frequency of genotype XX for the ACTN3 gene compared to population data, which contributes to the active production of alpha-actinin protein in muscle fibers, which promotes muscle contraction.

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As part of a major scientific project Caudwell Xtreme Everest, British scientists conducted genetic testing of highly qualified climbers. They examined 139 people and found differences in the genotype of climbers who successfully overcame the 8000-meter barrier, and climbers who failed to do so. It turned out that carriers of genotype II (the presence of two long copies of the ACE gene) reached an average of 8,559 meters, while carriers of two short copies of the ACE gene (genotype DD) stopped at an average of 8,079 meters, and 15 athletes who reached a height of more than 8,000 meters without oxygen, scientists no DD genotype was found at all. The ACE gene encodes an enzyme for the conversion of angiotensin, a protein hormone that is produced by the kidneys and is involved, in particular, in the normalization of blood pressure.

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American geneticists led by Bruce Spiegelman raised transgenic mice with a universal predisposition to physical exertion: they are able to run much longer distances and at a higher average speed than ordinary mice. The results of the study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, showed that almost all skeletal muscles of transgenic mice underwent a total transformation of muscle fibers into type IIX fibers. The latter are considered to be the "fastest" and resistant to fatigue.

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18.02.2008