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Tomasiunaite U, Kielkowski P, Krafczyk R, Forné I, Imhof A, Jung K. Decrypting the functional design of unmodified translation elongation factor P. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114063. [PMID: 38635400 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Bacteria overcome ribosome stalling by employing translation elongation factor P (EF-P), which requires post-translational modification (PTM) for its full activity. However, EF-Ps of the PGKGP subfamily are unmodified. The mechanism behind the ability to avoid PTM while retaining active EF-P requires further examination. Here, we investigate the design principles governing the functionality of unmodified EF-Ps in Escherichia coli. We screen for naturally unmodified EF-Ps with activity in E. coli and discover that the EF-P from Rhodomicrobium vannielii rescues growth defects of a mutant lacking the modification enzyme EF-P-(R)-β-lysine ligase. We identify amino acids in unmodified EF-P that modulate its activity. Ultimately, we find that substitution of these amino acids in other marginally active EF-Ps of the PGKGP subfamily leads to fully functional variants in E. coli. These results provide strategies to improve heterologous expression of proteins with polyproline motifs in E. coli and give insights into cellular adaptations to optimize protein synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urte Tomasiunaite
- Faculty of Biology, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Pavel Kielkowski
- Department of Chemistry, Institut für Chemische Epigenetik (ICEM), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 81375 Munich, Germany
| | - Ralph Krafczyk
- Faculty of Biology, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Ignasi Forné
- Zentrallabor für Proteinanalytik, Biomedical Center Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Axel Imhof
- Zentrallabor für Proteinanalytik, Biomedical Center Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Faculty of Biology, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
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Krafczyk R, Qi F, Sieber A, Mehler J, Jung K, Frishman D, Lassak J. Proline codon pair selection determines ribosome pausing strength and translation efficiency in bacteria. Commun Biol 2021; 4:589. [PMID: 34002016 PMCID: PMC8129111 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02115-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The speed of mRNA translation depends in part on the amino acid to be incorporated into the nascent chain. Peptide bond formation is especially slow with proline and two adjacent prolines can even cause ribosome stalling. While previous studies focused on how the amino acid context of a Pro-Pro motif determines the stalling strength, we extend this question to the mRNA level. Bioinformatics analysis of the Escherichia coli genome revealed significantly differing codon usage between single and consecutive prolines. We therefore developed a luminescence reporter to detect ribosome pausing in living cells, enabling us to dissect the roles of codon choice and tRNA selection as well as to explain the genome scale observations. Specifically, we found a strong selective pressure against CCC/U-C, a sequon causing ribosomal frameshifting even under wild-type conditions. On the other hand, translation efficiency as positive evolutionary driving force led to an overrepresentation of CCG. This codon is not only translated the fastest, but the corresponding prolyl-tRNA reaches almost saturating levels. By contrast, CCA, for which the cognate prolyl-tRNA amounts are limiting, is used to regulate pausing strength. Thus, codon selection both in discrete positions but especially in proline codon pairs can tune protein copy numbers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Krafczyk
- grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XDepartment of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Fei Qi
- grid.411404.40000 0000 8895 903XInstitute of Genomics, School of Biomedical Sciences, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, China ,grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftzentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
| | - Alina Sieber
- grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XDepartment of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Judith Mehler
- grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XDepartment of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XDepartment of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
| | - Dmitrij Frishman
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftzentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
| | - Jürgen Lassak
- grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XDepartment of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
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3
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Gast D, Koller F, Krafczyk R, Bauer L, Wunder S, Lassak J, Hoffmann-Röder A. A set of rhamnosylation-specific antibodies enables detection of novel protein glycosylations in bacteria. Org Biomol Chem 2020; 18:6823-6828. [PMID: 32936181 DOI: 10.1039/d0ob01289k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Despite its potential importance for bacterial virulence, protein rhamnosylation has not yet been sufficiently studied. Specific anti-SerRha, anti-ThrRha and anti-AsnRha antibodies allowed the identification of previously unknown monorhamnosylated proteins in cytosol and membrane fractions of bacterial cell lysates. Mapping of the complete rhamnoproteome in pathogens should facilitate development of targeted therapies against bacterial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Gast
- Department of Chemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
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Pfab M, Kielkowski P, Krafczyk R, Volkwein W, Sieber SA, Lassak J, Jung K. Synthetic post-translational modifications of elongation factor P using the ligase EpmA. FEBS J 2020; 288:663-677. [PMID: 32337775 DOI: 10.1111/febs.15346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Canonically, tRNA synthetases charge tRNA. However, the lysyl-tRNA synthetase paralog EpmA catalyzes the attachment of (R)-β-lysine to the ε-amino group of lysine 34 of the translation elongation factor P (EF-P) in Escherichia coli. This modification is essential for EF-P-mediated translational rescue of ribosomes stalled at consecutive prolines. In this study, we determined the kinetics of EpmA and its variant EpmA_A298G to catalyze the post-translational modification of K34 in EF-P with eight noncanonical substrates. In addition, acetylated EF-P was generated using an amber suppression system. The impact of these synthetically modified EF-P variants on in vitro translation of a polyproline-containing NanoLuc luciferase reporter was analyzed. Our results show that natural (R)-β-lysylation was more effective in rescuing stalled ribosomes than any other synthetic modification tested. Thus, our work not only provides new biochemical insights into the function of EF-P, but also opens a new route to post-translationally modify proteins using EpmA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Pfab
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
| | - Pavel Kielkowski
- Organic Chemistry II, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
| | - Ralph Krafczyk
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
| | - Wolfram Volkwein
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
| | - Stephan A Sieber
- Organic Chemistry II, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
| | - Jürgen Lassak
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
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Lassak J, Koller F, Krafczyk R, Volkwein W. Exceptionally versatile – arginine in bacterial post-translational protein modifications. Biol Chem 2019; 400:1397-1427. [DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2019-0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Post-translational modifications (PTM) are the evolutionary solution to challenge and extend the boundaries of genetically predetermined proteomic diversity. As PTMs are highly dynamic, they also hold an enormous regulatory potential. It is therefore not surprising that out of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids, 15 can be post-translationally modified. Even the relatively inert guanidino group of arginine is subject to a multitude of mostly enzyme mediated chemical changes. The resulting alterations can have a major influence on protein function. In this review, we will discuss how bacteria control their cellular processes and develop pathogenicity based on post-translational protein-arginine modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jürgen Lassak
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CiPSM), Department of Biology I, Microbiology , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4 , D-82152 Planegg , Germany
| | - Franziska Koller
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CiPSM), Department of Biology I, Microbiology , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4 , D-82152 Planegg , Germany
| | - Ralph Krafczyk
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CiPSM), Department of Biology I, Microbiology , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4 , D-82152 Planegg , Germany
| | - Wolfram Volkwein
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CiPSM), Department of Biology I, Microbiology , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4 , D-82152 Planegg , Germany
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6
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Volkwein W, Krafczyk R, Jagtap PKA, Parr M, Mankina E, Macošek J, Guo Z, Fürst MJLJ, Pfab M, Frishman D, Hennig J, Jung K, Lassak J. Switching the Post-translational Modification of Translation Elongation Factor EF-P. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:1148. [PMID: 31178848 PMCID: PMC6544042 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Tripeptides with two consecutive prolines are the shortest and most frequent sequences causing ribosome stalling. The bacterial translation elongation factor P (EF-P) relieves this arrest, allowing protein biosynthesis to continue. A seven amino acids long loop between beta-strands β3/β4 is crucial for EF-P function and modified at its tip by lysylation of lysine or rhamnosylation of arginine. Phylogenetic analyses unveiled an invariant proline in the -2 position of the modification site in EF-Ps that utilize lysine modifications such as Escherichia coli. Bacteria with the arginine modification like Pseudomonas putida on the contrary have selected against it. Focusing on the EF-Ps from these two model organisms we demonstrate the importance of the β3/β4 loop composition for functionalization by chemically distinct modifications. Ultimately, we show that only two amino acid changes in E. coli EF-P are needed for switching the modification strategy from lysylation to rhamnosylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfram Volkwein
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Ralph Krafczyk
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Marina Parr
- Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany.,St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Elena Mankina
- Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany
| | - Jakub Macošek
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany.,Faculty of Biosciences, Collaboration for Joint PhD Degree Between EMBL and Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Zhenghuan Guo
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Maximilian Josef Ludwig Johannes Fürst
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.,Molecular Enzymology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Miriam Pfab
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Dmitrij Frishman
- Department of Bioinformatics, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany.,St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Janosch Hennig
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Jürgen Lassak
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich, Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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7
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Volkwein W, Maier C, Krafczyk R, Jung K, Lassak J. A Versatile Toolbox for the Control of Protein Levels Using N ε-Acetyl-l-lysine Dependent Amber Suppression. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:1892-1902. [PMID: 28594177 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.7b00048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The analysis of the function of essential genes in vivo depends on the ability to experimentally modulate levels of their protein products. Current methods to address this are based on transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation of mRNAs, but approaches based on the exploitation of translation regulation have so far been neglected. Here we describe a toolbox, based on amber suppression in the presence of Nε-acetyl-l-lysine (AcK), for translational tuning of protein output. We chose the highly sensitive luminescence system LuxCDABE as a reporter and incorporated a UAG stop codon into the gene for the reductase subunit LuxC. The system was used to measure and compare the effects of AcK- and Nε-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-l-lysine (BocK) dependent amber suppression in Escherichia coli. We also demonstrate here that, in combination with transcriptional regulation, the system allows protein production to be either totally repressed or gradually adjusted. To identify sequence motifs that provide improved translational regulation, we varied the sequence context of the amber codon and found that insertion of two preceding prolines drastically decreases luminescence. In addition, using LacZ as a reporter, we demonstrated that a strain encoding a variant with a Pro-Pro amber motif can only grow on lactose when AcK is supplied, thus confirming the tight translational regulation of protein output. In parallel, we constructed an E. coli strain that carries an isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible version of the AcK-tRNA synthetase (AcKRS) gene on the chromosome, thus preventing mischarging of noncognate substrates. Subsequently, a diaminopimelic acid auxotrophic mutant (ΔdapA) was generated demonstrating the potential of this strain in regulating essential gene products. Furthermore, we assembled a set of vectors based on the broad-host-range pBBR ori that enable the AcK-dependent amber suppression system to control protein output not only in E. coli, but also in Salmonella enterica and Vibrio cholerae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfram Volkwein
- Center for integrated Protein
Science Munich (CiPSM) at the Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Christopher Maier
- Center for integrated Protein
Science Munich (CiPSM) at the Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Ralph Krafczyk
- Center for integrated Protein
Science Munich (CiPSM) at the Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Center for integrated Protein
Science Munich (CiPSM) at the Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Jürgen Lassak
- Center for integrated Protein
Science Munich (CiPSM) at the Department of Biology I, Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
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Li X, Krafczyk R, Macošek J, Li YL, Zou Y, Simon B, Pan X, Wu QY, Yan F, Li S, Hennig J, Jung K, Lassak J, Hu HG. Resolving the α-glycosidic linkage of arginine-rhamnosylated translation elongation factor P triggers generation of the first Arg Rha specific antibody. Chem Sci 2016; 7:6995-7001. [PMID: 28451135 PMCID: PMC5363779 DOI: 10.1039/c6sc02889f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A previously discovered posttranslational modification strategy - arginine rhamnosylation - is essential for elongation factor P (EF-P) dependent rescue of polyproline stalled ribosomes in clinically relevant species such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Neisseria meningitidis. However, almost nothing is known about this new type of N-linked glycosylation. In the present study we used NMR spectroscopy to show for the first time that the α anomer of rhamnose is attached to Arg32 of EF-P, demonstrating that the corresponding glycosyltransferase EarP inverts the sugar of its cognate substrate dTDP-β-l-rhamnose. Based on this finding we describe the synthesis of an α-rhamnosylated arginine containing peptide antigen in order to raise the first anti-rhamnosyl arginine specific antibody (anti-ArgRha). Using ELISA and Western Blot analyses we demonstrated both its high affinity and specificity without any cross-reactivity to other N-glycosylated proteins. Having the anti-ArgRha at hand we were able to visualize endogenously produced rhamnosylated EF-P. Thus, we expect the antibody to be not only important to monitor EF-P rhamnosylation in diverse bacteria but also to identify further rhamnosyl arginine containing proteins. As EF-P rhamnosylation is essential for pathogenicity, our antibody might also be a powerful tool in drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Li
- Department of Organic Chemistry , School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai 200433 , China .
| | - Ralph Krafczyk
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology , Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München , Munich , Germany.,Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Munich , Germany .
| | - Jakub Macošek
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit , EMBL Heidelberg , Heidelberg 69117 , Germany
| | - Yu-Lei Li
- Department of Organic Chemistry , School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai 200433 , China . .,School of Pharmacy , Wei Fang Medical University , Shandong 261053 , China
| | - Yan Zou
- Department of Organic Chemistry , School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai 200433 , China .
| | - Bernd Simon
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit , EMBL Heidelberg , Heidelberg 69117 , Germany
| | - Xing Pan
- Institute of Infection and Immunity , Taihe Hospital , Hubei University of Medicine , Shiyan , Hubei 442000 , China
| | - Qiu-Ye Wu
- Department of Organic Chemistry , School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai 200433 , China .
| | - Fang Yan
- School of Pharmacy , Wei Fang Medical University , Shandong 261053 , China
| | - Shan Li
- Institute of Infection and Immunity , Taihe Hospital , Hubei University of Medicine , Shiyan , Hubei 442000 , China
| | - Janosch Hennig
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit , EMBL Heidelberg , Heidelberg 69117 , Germany
| | - Kirsten Jung
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology , Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München , Munich , Germany.,Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Munich , Germany .
| | - Jürgen Lassak
- Department of Biology I, Microbiology , Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München , Munich , Germany.,Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Munich , Germany .
| | - Hong-Gang Hu
- Department of Organic Chemistry , School of Pharmacy , Second Military Medical University , Shanghai 200433 , China .
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