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Jo S, Signorile L, Kim S, Kim MS, Huertas O, Insa R, Reig N, Shin DH. A Study of Drug Repurposing to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (3CLpro) Inhibitors. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23126468. [PMID: 35742913 PMCID: PMC9224295 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126468] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) wreaked havoc all over the world. Although vaccines for the disease have recently become available and started to be administered to the population in various countries, there is still a strong and urgent need for treatments to cure COVID-19. One of the safest and fastest strategies is represented by drug repurposing (DRPx). In this study, thirty compounds with known safety profiles were identified from a chemical library of Phase II-and-up compounds through a combination of SOM Biotech's Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, SOMAIPRO, and in silico docking calculations with third-party software. The selected compounds were then tested in vitro for inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro or Mpro). Of the thirty compounds, three (cynarine, eravacycline, and prexasertib) displayed strong inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. VeroE6 cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 were used to find the cell protection capability of each candidate. Among the three compounds, only eravacycline showed potential antiviral activities with no significant cytotoxicity. A further study is planned for pre-clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seri Jo
- College of Pharmacy and Graduates School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha W. University, Seoul 03760, Korea; (S.J.); (S.K.); (M.-S.K.)
| | - Luca Signorile
- SOM Innovation Biotech SA., Baldiri Reixac, 4, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (L.S.); (O.H.); (R.I.)
| | - Suwon Kim
- College of Pharmacy and Graduates School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha W. University, Seoul 03760, Korea; (S.J.); (S.K.); (M.-S.K.)
| | - Mi-Sun Kim
- College of Pharmacy and Graduates School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha W. University, Seoul 03760, Korea; (S.J.); (S.K.); (M.-S.K.)
| | - Oscar Huertas
- SOM Innovation Biotech SA., Baldiri Reixac, 4, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (L.S.); (O.H.); (R.I.)
| | - Raúl Insa
- SOM Innovation Biotech SA., Baldiri Reixac, 4, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (L.S.); (O.H.); (R.I.)
| | - Núria Reig
- SOM Innovation Biotech SA., Baldiri Reixac, 4, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (L.S.); (O.H.); (R.I.)
- Correspondence: (N.R.); (D.H.S.); Tel.: +34-93-402-0150 (N.R.); +82-2-3277-4502 (D.H.S.); Fax: +34-93-403-4510 (N.R.); +82-2-3277-2851 (D.H.S.)
| | - Dong Hae Shin
- College of Pharmacy and Graduates School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha W. University, Seoul 03760, Korea; (S.J.); (S.K.); (M.-S.K.)
- Correspondence: (N.R.); (D.H.S.); Tel.: +34-93-402-0150 (N.R.); +82-2-3277-4502 (D.H.S.); Fax: +34-93-403-4510 (N.R.); +82-2-3277-2851 (D.H.S.)
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Jo S, Kim HY, Shin DH, Kim MS. Dimerization Tendency of 3CLpros of Human Coronaviruses Based on the X-ray Crystal Structure of the Catalytic Domain of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:5268. [PMID: 35563658 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23095268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
3CLpro of SARS-CoV-2 is a promising target for developing anti-COVID19 agents. In order to evaluate the catalytic activity of 3CLpros according to the presence or absence of the dimerization domain, two forms had been purified and tested. Enzyme kinetic studies with a FRET method revealed that the catalytic domain alone presents enzymatic activity, despite it being approximately 8.6 times less than that in the full domain. The catalytic domain was crystallized and its X-ray crystal structure has been determined to 2.3 Å resolution. There are four protomers in the asymmetric unit. Intriguingly, they were packed as a dimer though the dimerization domain was absent. The RMSD of superimposed two catalytic domains was 0.190 for 182 Cα atoms. A part of the long hinge loop (LH-loop) from Gln189 to Asp197 was not built in the model due to its flexibility. The crystal structure indicates that the decreased proteolytic activity of the catalytic domain was due to the incomplete construction of the substrate binding part built by the LH-loop. A structural survey with other 3CLpros showed that SARS-CoV families do not have interactions between DM-loop due to the conformational difference at the last turn of helix α7 compared with others. Therefore, we can conclude that the monomeric form contains nascent enzyme activity and that its efficiency increases by dimerization. This new insight may contribute to understanding the behavior of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro and thus be useful in developing anti-COVID-19 agents.
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Hasegawa T, Imamura RM, Suzuki T, Hashiguchi T, Nomura T, Otsuguro S, Maenaka K, Sasaki M, Orba Y, Sawa H, Sato A, Okabe T, Nagano T, Kojima H. Application of Acoustic Ejection MS System to High-Throughput Screening for SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Inhibitors. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2021; 70:199-201. [PMID: 34937844 DOI: 10.1248/cpb.c21-01003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Mass spectrometry is a powerful methodology for chemical screening to directly quantify substrates and products of enzymes, but its low throughput has been an issue. Recently, an acoustic liquid-handling apparatus (Echo®) used for rapid nano-dispensing has been coupled to a high-sensitivity mass spectrometer to create the Echo® MS system, and we applied this system to screening of SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitors. Primary screening of 32,033 chemical samples was completed in 12 hours. Among the hits showing selective, dose-dependent 3CL-inhibitory activity, 8 compounds showed antiviral activity in cell-based assay.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Tateki Suzuki
- Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University
| | - Takao Hashiguchi
- Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University
| | - Takao Nomura
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University
| | | | | | - Michihito Sasaki
- International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University
| | - Yasuko Orba
- International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University
| | - Hirofumi Sawa
- International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University
| | - Akihiko Sato
- International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University.,Drug Discovery and Disease Research Laboratory, Shionogi & Co., Ltd
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Chiou WC, Hsu MS, Chen YT, Yang JM, Tsay YG, Huang HC, Huang C. Repurposing existing drugs: identification of SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitors. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2021; 36:147-153. [PMID: 33430659 PMCID: PMC7808739 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2020.1850710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since its emergence, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only distressed medical services but also caused economic upheavals, marking urgent the need for effective therapeutics. The experience of combating SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV has shown that inhibiting the 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) blocks the replication of the virus. Given the well-studied properties of FDA-approved drugs, identification of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors in an FDA-approved drug library would be of great therapeutic value. Here, we screened a library consisting of 774 FDA-approved drugs for potent SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors, using an intramolecularly quenched fluorescence (IQF) peptide substrate. Ethacrynic acid, naproxen, allopurinol, butenafine hydrochloride, raloxifene hydrochloride, tranylcypromine hydrochloride, and saquinavir mesylate have been found to block the proteolytic activity of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. The inhibitory activity of these repurposing drugs against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro highlights their therapeutic potential for treating COVID-19 and other Betacoronavirus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Chung Chiou
- Department of Biotechnology and Laboratory Science in Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Meng-Shiuan Hsu
- Departments of Infectious Disease, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Ti Chen
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Jinn-Moon Yang
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, College of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Faculty of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
- Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
| | - Yeou-Guang Tsay
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsiu-Chen Huang
- Department of Applied Science, National Tsing Hua University South Campus, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Cheng Huang
- Department of Biotechnology and Laboratory Science in Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Jo S, Kim S, Yoo J, Kim MS, Shin DH. A Study of 3CLpros as Promising Targets against SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Microorganisms 2021; 9:756. [PMID: 33916747 PMCID: PMC8065850 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9040756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), results in serious chaos all over the world. In addition to the available vaccines, the development of treatments to cure COVID-19 should be done quickly. One of the fastest strategies is to use a drug-repurposing approach. To provide COVID-19 patients with useful information about medicines currently being used in clinical trials, twenty-four compounds, including antiviral agents, were selected and assayed. These compounds were applied to verify the inhibitory activity for the protein function of 3CLpros (main proteases) of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Among them, viral reverse-transcriptase inhibitors abacavir and tenofovir revealed a good inhibitory effect on both 3CLpros. Intriguingly, sildenafil, a cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor also showed significant inhibitory function against them. The in silico docking study suggests that the active-site residues located in the S1 and S2 sites play key roles in the interactions with the inhibitors. The result indicates that 3CLpros are promising targets to cope with SAR-CoV-2 and its variants. The information can be helpful to design treatments to cure patients with COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Dong Hae Shin
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seoul 03760, Korea; (S.J.); (S.K.); (J.Y.); (M.-S.K.)
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Pathak N, Chen YT, Hsu YC, Hsu NY, Kuo CJ, Tsai HP, Kang JJ, Huang CH, Chang SY, Chang YH, Liang PH, Yang JM. Uncovering Flexible Active Site Conformations of SARS-CoV-2 3CL Proteases through Protease Pharmacophore Clusters and COVID-19 Drug Repurposing. ACS Nano 2021; 15:857-872. [PMID: 33373194 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c07383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The infectious SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, which is now a global pandemic. Aiming for effective treatments, we focused on the key drug target, the viral 3C-like (3CL) protease. We modeled a big dataset with 42 SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease-ligand complex structures from ∼98.7% similar SARS-CoV 3CL protease with abundant complex structures. The diverse flexible active site conformations identified in the dataset were clustered into six protease pharmacophore clusters (PPCs). For the PPCs with distinct flexible protease active sites and diverse interaction environments, we identified pharmacophore anchor hotspots. A total of 11 "PPC consensus anchors" (a distinct set observed in each PPC) were observed, of which three "PPC core anchors" EHV2, HV1, and V3 are strongly conserved across PPCs. The six PPC cavities were then applied in virtual screening of 2122 FDA drugs for repurposing, using core anchor-derived "PPC scoring S" to yield seven drug candidates. Experimental testing by SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibition assay and antiviral cytopathic effect assays discovered active hits, Boceprevir and Telaprevir (HCV drugs) and Nelfinavir (HIV drug). Specifically, Boceprevir showed strong protease inhibition with micromolar IC50 of 1.42 μM and an antiviral activity with EC50 of 49.89 μM, whereas Telaprevir showed moderate protease inhibition only with an IC50 of 11.47 μM. Nelfinavir solely showed antiviral activity with a micromolar EC50 value of 3.28 μM. Analysis of binding mechanisms of protease inhibitors revealed the role of PPC core anchors. Our PPCs revealed the flexible protease active site conformations, which successfully enabled drug repurposing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikhil Pathak
- TIGP Bioinformatics Program, Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Ti Chen
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Chao Hsu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
| | - Nung-Yu Hsu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Jung Kuo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
| | - Hui Ping Tsai
- Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, New Taipei City 114, Taiwan
| | - Jaw-Jou Kang
- National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Heng Huang
- Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, New Taipei City 114, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, New Taipei City 114, Taiwan
| | - Sui-Yuan Chang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 100, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Hsiu Chang
- Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, New Taipei City 114, Taiwan
| | - Po-Huang Liang
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
- Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
| | - Jinn-Moon Yang
- TIGP Bioinformatics Program, Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
- Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
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Abian O, Ortega-Alarcon D, Jimenez-Alesanco A, Ceballos-Laita L, Vega S, Reyburn HT, Rizzuti B, Velazquez-Campoy A. Structural stability of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro and identification of quercetin as an inhibitor by experimental screening. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 164:1693-1703. [PMID: 32745548 PMCID: PMC7395220 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.07.235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The global health emergency generated by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has prompted the search for preventive and therapeutic treatments for its pathogen, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There are many potential targets for drug discovery and development to tackle this disease. One of these targets is the main protease, Mpro or 3CLpro, which is highly conserved among coronaviruses. 3CLpro is an essential player in the viral replication cycle, processing the large viral polyproteins and rendering the individual proteins functional. We report a biophysical characterization of the structural stability and the catalytic activity of 3CLpro from SARS-CoV-2, from which a suitable experimental in vitro molecular screening procedure has been designed. By screening of a small chemical library consisting of about 150 compounds, the natural product quercetin was identified as reasonably potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro (Ki ~ 7 μM). Quercetin could be shown to interact with 3CLpro using biophysical techniques and bind to the active site in molecular simulations. Quercetin, with well-known pharmacokinetic and ADMET properties, can be considered as a good candidate for further optimization and development, or repositioned for COVID-19 therapeutic treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Abian
- Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud (IACS), 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón (IIS Aragon), 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en el Área Temática de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), 28029 Madrid, Spain; Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Units IQFR-CSIC-BIFI, and GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - David Ortega-Alarcon
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Units IQFR-CSIC-BIFI, and GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Ana Jimenez-Alesanco
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Units IQFR-CSIC-BIFI, and GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Laura Ceballos-Laita
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón (IIS Aragon), 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Units IQFR-CSIC-BIFI, and GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Sonia Vega
- Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Units IQFR-CSIC-BIFI, and GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Hugh T Reyburn
- Department of Immunology and Oncology, National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB), CSIC, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Bruno Rizzuti
- CNR-NANOTEC, Licryl-UOS Cosenza and CEMIF.Cal, Department of Physics, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Adrian Velazquez-Campoy
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón (IIS Aragon), 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en el Área Temática de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), 28029 Madrid, Spain; Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Joint Units IQFR-CSIC-BIFI, and GBsC-CSIC-BIFI, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; Fundación ARAID, Gobierno de Aragón, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
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