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Tserga A, Saulnier-Blache JS, Palamaris K, Pouloudi D, Gakiopoulou H, Zoidakis J, Schanstra JP, Vlahou A, Makridakis M. Complement Cascade Proteins Correlate with Fibrosis and Inflammation in Early-Stage Type 1 Diabetic Kidney Disease in the Ins2Akita Mouse Model. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1387. [PMID: 38338666 PMCID: PMC10855735 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is characterized by histological changes including fibrosis and inflammation. Evidence supports that DKD is mediated by the innate immune system and more specifically by the complement system. Using Ins2Akita T1D diabetic mice, we studied the connection between the complement cascade, inflammation, and fibrosis in early DKD. Data were extracted from a previously published quantitative-mass-spectrometry-based proteomics analysis of kidney glomeruli of 2 (early DKD) and 4 months (moderately advanced DKD)-old Ins2Akita mice and their controls A Spearman rho correlation analysis of complement- versus inflammation- and fibrosis-related protein expression was performed. A cross-omics validation of the correlation analyses' results was performed using public-domain transcriptomics datasets (Nephroseq). Tissue sections from 43 patients with DKD were analyzed using immunofluorescence. Among the differentially expressed proteins, the complement cascade proteins C3, C4B, and IGHM were significantly increased in both early and later stages of DKD. Inflammation-related proteins were mainly upregulated in early DKD, and fibrotic proteins were induced in moderately advanced stages of DKD. The abundance of complement proteins with fibrosis- and inflammation-related proteins was mostly positively correlated in early stages of DKD. This was confirmed in seven additional human and mouse transcriptomics DKD datasets. Moreover, C3 and IGHM mRNA levels were found to be negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate (range for C3 rs = -0.58 to -0.842 and range for IGHM rs = -0.6 to -0.74) in these datasets. Immunohistology of human kidney biopsies revealed that C3, C1q, and IGM proteins were induced in patients with DKD and were correlated with fibrosis and inflammation. Our study shows for the first time the potential activation of the complement cascade associated with inflammation-mediated kidney fibrosis in the Ins2Akita T1D mouse model. Our findings could provide new perspectives for the treatment of early DKD as well as support the use of Ins2Akita T1D in pre-clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aggeliki Tserga
- Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Department of Biotechnology, Soranou Efessiou 4, 11527 Athens, Greece; (A.T.); (J.Z.); (A.V.)
| | - Jean Sébastien Saulnier-Blache
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), UMR1297, Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease, 31432 Toulouse, France; (J.S.S.-B.); (J.P.S.)
- Department of Biology, Université Toulouse III Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Kostantinos Palamaris
- 1st Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34400 Athens, Greece; (K.P.); (D.P.); (H.G.)
| | - Despoina Pouloudi
- 1st Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34400 Athens, Greece; (K.P.); (D.P.); (H.G.)
| | - Harikleia Gakiopoulou
- 1st Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34400 Athens, Greece; (K.P.); (D.P.); (H.G.)
| | - Jerome Zoidakis
- Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Department of Biotechnology, Soranou Efessiou 4, 11527 Athens, Greece; (A.T.); (J.Z.); (A.V.)
- Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15701 Zografou, Greece
| | - Joost Peter Schanstra
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), UMR1297, Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease, 31432 Toulouse, France; (J.S.S.-B.); (J.P.S.)
- Department of Biology, Université Toulouse III Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Antonia Vlahou
- Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Department of Biotechnology, Soranou Efessiou 4, 11527 Athens, Greece; (A.T.); (J.Z.); (A.V.)
| | - Manousos Makridakis
- Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Department of Biotechnology, Soranou Efessiou 4, 11527 Athens, Greece; (A.T.); (J.Z.); (A.V.)
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Song L, Shi X, Kovacs L, Han W, John J, Barman SA, Dong Z, Lucas R, Fulton DJR, Verin AD, Su Y. Calpain Promotes LPS-induced Lung Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction via Cleavage of Talin. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2023; 69:678-688. [PMID: 37639326 PMCID: PMC10704117 DOI: 10.1165/rcmb.2023-0009oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by lung vascular endothelial cell (EC) barrier compromise resulting in increased endothelial permeability and pulmonary edema. The infection of gram-negative bacteria that produce toxins like LPS is one of the major causes of ALI. LPS activates Toll-like receptor 4, leading to cytoskeleton reorganization, resulting in lung endothelial barrier disruption and pulmonary edema in ALI. However, the signaling pathways that lead to the cytoskeleton reorganization and lung microvascular EC barrier disruption remain largely unexplored. Here we show that LPS induces calpain activation and talin cleavage into head and rod domains and that inhibition of calpain attenuates talin cleavage, RhoA activation, and pulmonary EC barrier disruption in LPS-treated human lung microvascular ECs in vitro and lung EC barrier disruption and pulmonary edema induced by LPS in ALI in vivo. Moreover, overexpression of calpain causes talin cleavage and RhoA activation, myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation, and increases in actin stress fiber formation. Furthermore, knockdown of talin attenuates LPS-induced RhoA activation and MLC phosphorylation and increased stress fiber formation and mitigates LPS-induced lung microvascular endothelial barrier disruption. Additionally, overexpression of talin head and rod domains increases RhoA activation, MLC phosphorylation, and stress fiber formation and enhances lung endothelial barrier disruption. Finally, overexpression of cleavage-resistant talin mutant reduces LPS-induced increases in MLC phosphorylation in human lung microvascular ECs and attenuates LPS-induced lung microvascular endothelial barrier disruption. These results provide the first evidence that calpain mediates LPS-induced lung microvascular endothelial barrier disruption in ALI via cleavage of talin.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Laszlo Kovacs
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia; and
| | | | - Joseph John
- Research Service, Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
| | | | - Zheng Dong
- Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, and
- Research Service, Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Rudolf Lucas
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
- Department of Medicine
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia; and
| | - David J. R. Fulton
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia; and
| | - Alexander D. Verin
- Department of Medicine
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia; and
| | - Yunchao Su
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
- Department of Medicine
- Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia; and
- Research Service, Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
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An C, Sun F, Liu C, Huang S, Xu T, Zhang C, Ge S. IQGAP1 promotes mitochondrial damage and activation of the mtDNA sensor cGAS-STING pathway to induce endothelial cell pyroptosis leading to atherosclerosis. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 123:110795. [PMID: 37597406 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
Atherosclerosis (AS) is the most common cardiovascular disease and has limited therapeutic options. IQ motif-containing GTPase-activating protein 1 (IQGAP1) is an important scaffolding protein regulating mitochondrial function influencing endothelial cell activity. Evidence suggests that mitochondrial damage can lead to leakage of mtDNA into the cytoplasm to activate the DNA sensor cGAS-STING to mediate pyroptosis. However, whether IQGAP1 induces NLRP3-mediated endothelial cell pyroptosis by regulating mitochondrial function and activating the DNA sensor cGAS-STING, and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In vivo, ApoE-/- C57BL/J and Ldlr-/- C57BL/J mice were pre-injected with adeno-associated virus (AAV) by the tail vein to specifically silence IQGAP1 expression and were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. IQGAP1 knockdown reduced mtDNA release and decreased the expression of DNA receptors and pyroptosis-related molecules as determined by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. In vitro, palmitic acid (0.3 mmol/L) was incubated with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) for 24 h. Overexpression of IQGAP1 in HUVECs, flow cytometry, and mitochondrial superoxide staining revealed increased levels of ROS. Moreover, the mitochondrial tracker with dsDNA co-localization showed the release of mtDNA into the cytoplasm increased, which activated the DNA receptor cGAS-STING. Protein blotting and TUNEL staining revealed that IQGAP1 promoted NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. Furthermore, cGAS or STING small-molecule inhibitors RU.521 or C-176 reverse IQGAP1-promoted HUVECs from undergoing NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. These results suggest that IQGAP1 promotes oxidative stress and mtDNA release, activates the DNA sensor cGAS-STING, and leads to NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. The present study provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying AS and identifies new pharmacological targets for treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng An
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China
| | - Fei Sun
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China
| | - Can Liu
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China
| | - Shaojun Huang
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China
| | - Tao Xu
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, China
| | - Chengxin Zhang
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China.
| | - Shenglin Ge
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China.
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Siddiqui MR, Reddy NM, Faridi HM, Shahid M, Shanley TP. Metformin alleviates lung-endothelial hyperpermeability by regulating cofilin-1/PP2AC pathway. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1211460. [PMID: 37361221 PMCID: PMC10285707 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1211460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Microvascular endothelial hyperpermeability is an earliest pathological hallmark in Acute Lung Injury (ALI), which progressively leads to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Recently, vascular protective and anti-inflammatory effect of metformin, irrespective of glycemic control, has garnered significant interest. However, the underlying molecular mechanism(s) of metformin's barrier protective benefits in lung-endothelial cells (ECs) has not been clearly elucidated. Many vascular permeability-increasing agents weakened adherens junctions (AJ) integrity by inducing the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and stress fibers formation. Here, we hypothesized that metformin abrogated endothelial hyperpermeability and strengthen AJ integrity via inhibiting stress fibers formation through cofilin-1-PP2AC pathway. Methods: We pretreated human lung microvascular ECs (human-lung-ECs) with metformin and then challenged with thrombin. To investigate the vascular protective effects of metformin, we studied changes in ECs barrier function using electric cell-substrate impedance sensing, levels of actin stress fibers formation and inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 expression. To explore the downstream mechanism, we studied the Ser3-phosphorylation-cofilin-1 levels in scramble and PP2AC-siRNA depleted ECs in response to thrombin with and without metformin pretreatment. Results: In-vitro analyses showed that metformin pretreatment attenuated thrombin-induced hyperpermeability, stress fibers formation, and the levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-β in human-lung-ECs. We found that metformin mitigated Ser3-phosphorylation mediated inhibition of cofilin-1 in response to thrombin. Furthermore, genetic deletion of PP2AC subunit significantly inhibited metformin efficacy to mitigate thrombin-induced Ser3-phosphorylation cofilin-1, AJ disruption and stress fibers formation. We further demonstrated that metformin increases PP2AC activity by upregulating PP2AC-Leu309 methylation in human-lung-ECs. We also found that the ectopic expression of PP2AC dampened thrombin-induced Ser3-phosphorylation-mediated inhibition of cofilin-1, stress fibers formation and endothelial hyperpermeability. Conclusion: Together, these data reveal the unprecedented endothelial cofilin-1/PP2AC signaling axis downstream of metformin in protecting against lung vascular endothelial injury and inflammation. Therefore, pharmacologically enhancing endothelial PP2AC activity may lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for prevention of deleterious effects of ALI on vascular ECs.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Rizwan Siddiqui
- Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Narsa M. Reddy
- Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Hafeez M. Faridi
- Drug Discovery Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Mohd Shahid
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Thomas P. Shanley
- Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
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Ai C, Wang Z, Li P, Wang M, Zhang W, Song H, Cai X, Lv K, Chen X, Zheng Z. Discovery and pharmacological characterization of a novel benzimidazole TRPV4 antagonist with cyanocyclobutyl moiety. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 249:115137. [PMID: 36696767 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
GSK-Bz, a TPRV4 antagonist discovered by GSK, displayed potent in vitro TRPV4 inhibition activity, and demonstrated ability to inhibit TRPV4-mediated pulmonary edema in an in vivo rat model. In this study, a series of GSK-Bz derivatives were designed and synthesized based on our previous findings. Compound 2b with cyanocyclobutyl moiety (IC50 = 22.65 nM) was found to be 5.3-fold more potent than GSK-Bz (IC50 = 121.6 nM) in the calcium imaging experiment. Patch-clamp experiments confirmed that compound 2b (IR = 77.1%) also gave significantly improved potency on TRPV4 currents measured at -60 mV. Furthermore, 2b effectively suppressed the permeability response to LPS in HUVEC with negligible cytotoxicity (CC50 > 100 μM). The in vivo protective effects of compounds 2b on acute lung injury were finally assessed in an LPS-induced ALI mice model. Notably, 2b gave better results than HC-067047 against all of the tested indexes (lung W/D ratios, the concentrations of BALF protein and pathological scores), indicating that 2b is a novel and highly potent TRPV4 antagonist which is worth for further development. Currently, evaluation for the drug-like properties of 2b is underway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chongyi Ai
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China; Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, China
| | - Zhuang Wang
- Institute of Medical Research, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China
| | - Pengyun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Mengyuan Wang
- Institute of Medical Research, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China
| | - Wenjuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Huijuan Song
- Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Xu Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China
| | - Kai Lv
- Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China.
| | - Xingjuan Chen
- Institute of Medical Research, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China.
| | - Zhibing Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China.
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Zhang N, Tang S, Zhang J, Pei B, Pang T, Sun G. The dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor linagliptin ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury by maintenance of pulmonary microvascular barrier via activating the Epac1/AKT pathway. Biomed Pharmacother 2022; 155:113704. [PMID: 36115114 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) barrier dysfunction is a main pathophysiological feature of sepsis-related acute lung injury (ALI). This study aimed to investigate whether the dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitor linagliptin could protect against LPS-induced PMVECs barrier disruption and its underlying molecular mechanisms. A classical ALI animal model and LPS-treated PMVECs were applied and all were treated with or without linagliptin. Cellular experiments demonstrated that linagliptin could mitigate LPS-induced PMVECs hyperpermeability and intercellular junction (VE-cadherin, β-catenin, and ZO-1) disruption in a dose-dependent manner. Correspondingly, it was observed that linagliptin pretreatment distinctly relieved LPS-induced lung injury, oxidative stress, and pulmonary edema in vivo. Furthermore, we found that the inhibition of oxidative stress by linagliptin may be achieved by reversing impaired mitochondrial function. Mechanistically, linagliptin administration promoted the activation of the Epac1 pathway and its downstream AKT pathway, while inhibition of the Epac1/Akt signaling pathway significantly alleviated the above-mentioned protective effect of linagliptin on the PMVECs barrier. Taken together, these data suggest that linagliptin can effectively reserve PMVECs barrier dysfunction and inhibit oxidative stress to protect against ALI via activating the Epac1/AKT signaling pathway, and thus may become a potential clinical therapeutic strategy for ALI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Zhang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, China
| | - Sihui Tang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second People's Hospital of Hefei, Hefei, Anhui 230011, China; Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second People's Hospital of Hefei Affiliated to Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui 230030, China
| | - Jinjin Zhang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China
| | - Biwei Pei
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China
| | - Tingting Pang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China
| | - Gengyun Sun
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China.
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7
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Jiang J, Ouyang H, Zhou Q, Tang S, Fang P, Xie G, Yang J, Sun G. LPS induces pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell barrier dysfunction by upregulating ceramide production. Cell Signal 2022; 92:110250. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2022.110250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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