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Steiner G, Toes RE. Autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis - rheumatoid factor, anticitrullinated protein antibodies and beyond. Curr Opin Rheumatol 2024; 36:217-224. [PMID: 38411194 PMCID: PMC11139241 DOI: 10.1097/bor.0000000000001006] [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] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW RA is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies among which rheumatoid factors (RFs) and antimodified protein antibodies (AMPA) are serological hallmarks of the disease. In recent years, several novel insights into the biology, immunogenetics and clinical relevance of these autoantibodies have been obtained, which deserve to be discussed in more detail. RECENT FINDINGS RFs from RA patients seem to target distinct epitopes which appear to be quite specific for RA. Determination of immunoglobulin A (IgA) isotypes of RF and anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) may provide prognostic information because their presence is associated with reduced therapeutic responses to TNF inhibitors. Furthermore, IgA levels are increased in RA patients and IgA immune complexes are more potent than immunoglobulin G (IgG) complexes in inducing NET formation. Concerning AMPAs, investigations on variable domain glycosylation (VDG) revealed effects on antigen binding and activation of autoreactive B cells. Studies on pathogenetic involvement of ACPA suggest Janus-faced roles: on the one hand, ACPA may be involved in joint destruction and pain perception while on the other hand protective anti-inflammatory effects may be attributed to a subset of ACPAs. SUMMARY The autoimmune response in RA is extremely complex and still far from being fully understood. Antibodies are not only valuable diagnostic biomarkers but also seem to play pivotal roles in the pathophysiology of RA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Günter Steiner
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine III; Medical University of Vienna
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Arthritis and Rehabilitation, Vienna, Austria
| | - René E.M. Toes
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Stork EM, van Rijswijck DMH, van Schie KA, Hoek M, Kissel T, Scherer HU, Huizinga TWJ, Heck AJR, Toes REM, Bondt A. Antigen-specific Fab profiling achieves molecular-resolution analysis of human autoantibody repertoires in rheumatoid arthritis. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3114. [PMID: 38600082 PMCID: PMC11006680 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47337-x] [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: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The presence of autoantibodies is a defining feature of many autoimmune diseases. The number of unique autoantibody clones is conceivably limited by immune tolerance mechanisms, but unknown due to limitations of the currently applied technologies. Here, we introduce an autoantigen-specific liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based IgG1 Fab profiling approach using the anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) repertoire in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as an example. We show that each patient harbors a unique and diverse ACPA IgG1 repertoire dominated by only a few antibody clones. In contrast to the total plasma IgG1 antibody repertoire, the ACPA IgG1 sub-repertoire is characterised by an expansion of antibodies that harbor one, two or even more Fab glycans, and different glycovariants of the same clone can be detected. Together, our data indicate that the autoantibody response in a prominent human autoimmune disease is complex, unique to each patient and dominated by a relatively low number of clones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Maria Stork
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Danique M H van Rijswijck
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Utrecht, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Proteomics Center, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Karin A van Schie
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Max Hoek
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Utrecht, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Proteomics Center, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Theresa Kissel
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hans Ulrich Scherer
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Tom W J Huizinga
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Albert J R Heck
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Utrecht, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Proteomics Center, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Rene E M Toes
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Albert Bondt
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Utrecht, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Netherlands Proteomics Center, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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van der Woude D, Toes REM. Immune response to post-translationally modified proteins in rheumatoid arthritis: what makes it special? Ann Rheum Dis 2024:ard-2023-224103. [PMID: 38378236 DOI: 10.1136/ard-2023-224103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exhibits common characteristics with numerous other autoimmune diseases, including the presence of susceptibility genes and the presence of disease-specific autoantibodies. Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) are the hallmarking autoantibodies in RA and the anti-citrullinated protein immune response has been implicated in disease pathogenesis. Insight into the immunological pathways leading to anti-citrullinated protein immunity will not only aid understanding of RA pathogenesis, but may also contribute to elucidation of similar mechanisms in other autoantibody-positive autoimmune diseases. Similarly, lessons learnt in other human autoimmune diseases might be relevant to understand potential drivers of RA. In this review, we will summarise several novel insights into the biology of the anti-citrullinated protein response and their clinical associations that have been obtained in recent years. These insights include the identification of glycans in the variable domain of ACPA, the realisation that ACPA are polyreactive towards other post-translational modifications on proteins, as well as new awareness of the contributing role of mucosal sites to the development of the ACPA response. These findings will be mirrored to emerging concepts obtained in other human (autoimmune) disease characterised by disease-specific autoantibodies. Together with an updated understanding of genetic and environmental risk factors and fresh perspectives on how the microbiome could contribute to antibody formation, these advancements coalesce to a progressively clearer picture of the B cell reaction to modified antigens in the progression of RA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - René E M Toes
- Rheumatology, Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Xu Z, Liu Y, He S, Sun R, Zhu C, Li S, Hai S, Luo Y, Zhao Y, Dai L. Integrative Proteomics and N-Glycoproteomics Analyses of Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovium Reveal Immune-Associated Glycopeptides. Mol Cell Proteomics 2023; 22:100540. [PMID: 37019382 PMCID: PMC10176071 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2023.100540] [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: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a typical autoimmune disease characterized by synovial inflammation, synovial tissue hyperplasia, and destruction of bone and cartilage. Protein glycosylation plays key roles in the pathogenesis of RA but in-depth glycoproteomics analysis of synovial tissues is still lacking. Here, by using a strategy to quantify intact N-glycopeptides, we identified 1260 intact N-glycopeptides from 481 N-glycosites on 334 glycoproteins in RA synovium. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the hyper-glycosylated proteins in RA were closely linked to immune responses. By using DNASTAR software, we identified 20 N-glycopeptides whose prototype peptides were highly immunogenic. We next calculated the enrichment scores of nine types of immune cells using specific gene sets from public single-cell transcriptomics data of RA and revealed that the N-glycosylation levels at some sites, such as IGSF10_N2147, MOXD2P_N404, and PTCH2_N812, were significantly correlated with the enrichment scores of certain immune cell types. Furthermore, we showed that aberrant N-glycosylation in the RA synovium was related to increased expression of glycosylation enzymes. Collectively, this work presents, for the first time, the N-glycoproteome of RA synovium and describes immune-associated glycosylation, providing novel insights into RA pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Xu
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics and Department of General Practice, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, China
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Siyu He
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics and Department of General Practice, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, China
| | - Rui Sun
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Chenxi Zhu
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Shuangqing Li
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics and Department of General Practice, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, China
| | - Shan Hai
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics and Department of General Practice, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, China
| | - Yubin Luo
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yi Zhao
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
| | - Lunzhi Dai
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics and Department of General Practice, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, China.
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Abstract
Glycosylation has a profound influence on protein activity and cell biology through a variety of mechanisms, such as protein stability, receptor interactions and signal transduction. In many rheumatic diseases, a shift in protein glycosylation occurs, and is associated with inflammatory processes and disease progression. For example, the Fc-glycan composition on (auto)antibodies is associated with disease activity, and the presence of additional glycans in the antigen-binding domains of some autoreactive B cell receptors can affect B cell activation. In addition, changes in synovial fibroblast cell-surface glycosylation can alter the synovial microenvironment and are associated with an altered inflammatory state and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. The development of our understanding of the role of glycosylation of plasma proteins (particularly (auto)antibodies), cells and tissues in rheumatic pathological conditions suggests that glycosylation-based interventions could be used in the treatment of these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Kissel
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - René E M Toes
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Thomas W J Huizinga
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Manfred Wuhrer
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
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Huang M, Xu H. Genetic susceptibility to autoimmunity-Current status and challenges. Adv Immunol 2022; 156:25-54. [PMID: 36410874 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ai.2022.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Autoimmune diseases (ADs) often arise from a combination of genetic and environmental triggers that disrupt the immune system's capability to properly tolerate body self-antigens. Familial studies provided the earliest insights into the risk loci of such diseases, while genome-wide association studies (GWAS) significantly broadened the horizons. A drug targeting a prominent pathological pathway can be applied to multiple indications sharing overlapping mechanisms. Advances in genomic technologies used in genetic studies provide critical insights into future research on gene-environment interactions in autoimmunity. This Review summarizes the history and recent advances in the understanding of genetic susceptibility to ADs and related immune disorders, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and their indications for the development of diagnostic or prognostic markers for translational applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Huji Xu
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, The Navel Medical University, Shanghai, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
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Andreani T, Slot LM, Gabillard S, Strübing C, Reimertz C, Yaligara V, Bakker AM, Olfati-Saber R, Toes REM, Scherer HU, Augé F, Šimaitė D. Benchmarking computational methods for B-cell receptor reconstruction from single-cell RNA-seq data. NAR Genom Bioinform 2022; 4:lqac049. [PMID: 35855325 PMCID: PMC9278041 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqac049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple methods have recently been developed to reconstruct full-length B-cell receptors (BCRs) from single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. This need emerged from the expansion of scRNA-seq techniques, the increasing interest in antibody-based drug development and the importance of BCR repertoire changes in cancer and autoimmune disease progression. However, a comprehensive assessment of performance-influencing factors such as the sequencing depth, read length or number of somatic hypermutations (SHMs) as well as guidance regarding the choice of methodology is still lacking. In this work, we evaluated the ability of six available methods to reconstruct full-length BCRs using one simulated and three experimental SMART-seq datasets. In addition, we validated that the BCRs assembled in silico recognize their intended targets when expressed as monoclonal antibodies. We observed that methods such as BALDR, BASIC and BRACER showed the best overall performance across the tested datasets and conditions, whereas only BASIC demonstrated acceptable results on very short read libraries. Furthermore, the de novo assembly-based methods BRACER and BALDR were the most accurate in reconstructing BCRs harboring different degrees of SHMs in the variable domain, while TRUST4, MiXCR and BASIC were the fastest. Finally, we propose guidelines to select the best method based on the given data characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Andreani
- AI & Deep Analytics—Omics Data Science, Sanofi , Frankfurt am Main 65926, Germany
| | - Linda M Slot
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center , 2333 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Carsten Strübing
- Immunology & Inflammation Research, Sanofi , Frankfurt am Main 65926, Germany
| | - Claus Reimertz
- Immunology & Inflammation Research, Sanofi , Frankfurt am Main 65926, Germany
| | - Veeranagouda Yaligara
- Molecular Biology & Genomics, Translational Science Unit, Sanofi , Chilly-Mazarin 91385, France
| | - Aleida M Bakker
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center , 2333 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - René E M Toes
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center , 2333 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hans U Scherer
- Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center , 2333 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Franck Augé
- AI & Deep Analytics—Omics Data Science, Sanofi , Paris 91385, France
| | - Deimantė Šimaitė
- AI & Deep Analytics—Omics Data Science, Sanofi , Frankfurt am Main 65926, Germany
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From risk to chronicity: evolution of autoreactive B cell and antibody responses in rheumatoid arthritis. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2022; 18:371-383. [PMID: 35606567 DOI: 10.1038/s41584-022-00786-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The presence of disease-specific autoantibody responses and the efficacy of B cell-targeting therapies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) indicate a pivotal role for B cells in disease pathogenesis. Important advances have shaped our understanding of the involvement of autoantibodies and autoreactive B cells in the disease process. In RA, autoantibodies target antigens with a variety of post-translational modifications such as carbamylation, acetylation and citrullination. B cell responses against citrullinated antigens generate anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs), which are themselves modified in the variable domains by abundant N-linked glycans. Insights into the induction of autoreactive B cells against antigens with post-translational modifications and the development of autoantibody features such as isotype usage, epitope recognition, avidity and glycosylation reveal their relationship to particular RA risk factors and clinical phenotypes. Glycosylation of the ACPA variable domain, for example, seems to predict RA onset in ACPA+ healthy individuals, possibly because it affects B cell receptor signalling. Moreover, ACPA-expressing B cells show dynamic phenotypic changes and develop a continuously proliferative and activated phenotype that can persist in patients who are in drug-induced clinical remission. Together, these findings can be integrated into a conceptual framework of immunological autoreactivity in RA, delineating how it develops and persists and why disease activity recurs when therapy is tapered or stopped.
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Kissel T, Hafkenscheid L, Wesemael TJ, Tamai M, Kawashiri SY, Kawakami A, El-Gabalawy HS, van Schaardenburg D, Rantapää-Dahlqvist S, Wuhrer M, van der Helm-van Mil AHM, Allaart CF, van der Woude D, Scherer HU, Toes REM, Huizinga TWJ. IgG Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibody Variable Domain Glycosylation Increases Before the Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Stabilizes Thereafter: A Cross-Sectional Study Encompassing ~1,500 Samples. Arthritis Rheumatol 2022; 74:1147-1158. [PMID: 35188715 PMCID: PMC9544857 DOI: 10.1002/art.42098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Objective The autoimmune response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is marked by the presence of anti–citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs). A notable feature of IgG ACPA is the abundant expression of N‐linked glycans in the variable domain. However, the presence of ACPA variable domain glycosylation (VDG) across disease stages, and its response to therapy, are poorly described. To understand its dynamics, we investigated the abundance of IgG ACPA VDG in 1,498 samples from individuals in different clinical stages. Methods Using liquid chromatography, we analyzed IgG ACPA VDG profiles in 7 different cohorts from Japan, Canada, The Netherlands, and Sweden. We assessed 106 healthy individuals, 228 individuals with presymptomatic RA, 277 individuals with arthralgia, 307 patients with new‐onset/early RA, and 117 RA patients after prespecified treatment regimens. Additionally, we measured VDG in 234 samples from patients with RA who did or did not achieve long‐term drug‐free remission (DFR) during up to 16 years follow‐up. Results IgG ACPA VDG significantly increased (P < 0.0001) toward disease onset and was associated with ACPA levels and epitope spreading prior to diagnosis. A slight increase in VDG was observed in patients with established RA, with a moderate influence of treatment (P = 0.007). In patients in whom DFR was later achieved, IgG ACPA VDG was already reduced at the time of RA onset. Conclusion The abundance of IgG ACPA VDG increases toward RA onset and correlates with maturation of the ACPA response. While IgG ACPA VDG levels are fairly stable in established disease, a lower degree of VDG at RA onset correlates with DFR. Although the underlying biologic mechanisms remain elusive, our data support the concept that VDG relates to an expansion of the ACPA response in the pre‐disease phase and contributes to disease development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Kissel
- Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Lise Hafkenscheid
- Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, and Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Mami Tamai
- Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Shin-Ya Kawashiri
- Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Atsushi Kawakami
- Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan
| | | | - Dirkjan van Schaardenburg
- Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center and Amsterdam Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Manfred Wuhrer
- Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Hans U Scherer
- Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rene E M Toes
- Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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