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McCarty SM, Clasby MC, Sexton JZ. High-Throughput Methods for the Discovery of Small Molecule Modulators of Pancreatic Beta-Cell Function and Regeneration. Assay Drug Dev Technol 2024; 22:148-159. [PMID: 38526231 PMCID: PMC11236284 DOI: 10.1089/adt.2023.119] [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: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The progression of type II diabetes (T2D) is characterized by a complex and highly variable loss of beta-cell mass, resulting in impaired insulin secretion. Many T2D drug discovery efforts aimed at discovering molecules that can protect or restore beta-cell mass and function have been developed using limited beta-cell lines and primary rodent/human pancreatic islets. Various high-throughput screening methods have been used in the context of drug discovery, including luciferase-based reporter assays, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, and high-content screening. In this context, a cornerstone of small molecule discovery has been the use of immortalized rodent beta-cell lines. Although insightful, this usage has led to a more comprehensive understanding of rodent beta-cell proliferation pathways rather than their human counterparts. Advantages gained in enhanced physiological relevance are offered by three-dimensional (3D) primary islets and pseudoislets in contrast to monolayer cultures, but these approaches have been limited to use in low-throughput experiments. Emerging methods, such as high-throughput 3D islet imaging coupled with machine learning, aim to increase the feasibility of integrating 3D microtissue structures into high-throughput screening. This review explores the current methods used in high-throughput screening for small molecule modulators of beta-cell mass and function, a potentially pivotal strategy for diabetes drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean M. McCarty
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Martin C. Clasby
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Jonathan Z. Sexton
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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2
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McCarty SM, Clasby MC, Sexton JZ. Automated high-throughput, high-content 3D imaging of intact pancreatic islets. SLAS DISCOVERY : ADVANCING LIFE SCIENCES R & D 2023; 28:316-324. [PMID: 37527729 DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2023.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
Diabetes poses a global health crisis affecting individuals across age groups and backgrounds, with a prevalence estimate of 700 million people worldwide by 2045. Current therapeutic strategies primarily rely on insulin therapy or hypoglycemic agents, which fail to address the root cause of the disease - the loss of pancreatic insulin-producing beta-cells. Therefore, bioassays that recapitulate intact islets are needed to enable drug discovery for beta-cell replenishment, protection from beta-cell loss, and islet-cell interactions. Standard cancer insulinoma beta-cell lines MIN6 and INS-1 have been used to interrogate beta-cell metabolic pathways and function but are not suitable for studying proliferative effects. Screening using primary human/rodent intact islets offers a higher level of physiological relevance to enhance diabetes drug discovery and development. However, the 3-dimensionality of intact islets have presented challenges in developing robust, high-throughput assays to detect beta-cell proliferative effects. Established methods rely on either dissociated islet cells plated in 2D monolayer cultures for imaging or reconstituted pseudo-islets formed in round bottom plates to achieve homogeneity. These approaches have significant limitations due to the islet cell dispersion process. To address these limitations, we have developed a robust, intact ex vivo pancreatic islet bioassay in 384-well format that is capable of detecting diabetes-relevant endpoints including beta-cell proliferation, chemoprotection, and islet spatial morphometrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean M McCarty
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Martin C Clasby
- Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jonathan Z Sexton
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; University of Michigan Center for Drug Repurposing, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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Kalwat MA, Rodrigues-dos-Santos K, Binns DD, Wei S, Zhou A, Evans MR, Posner BA, Roth MG, Cobb MH. Small molecule glucagon release inhibitors with activity in human islets. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023; 14:1114799. [PMID: 37152965 PMCID: PMC10157210 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1114799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Type 1 diabetes (T1D) accounts for an estimated 5% of all diabetes in the United States, afflicting over 1.25 million individuals. Maintaining long-term blood glucose control is the major goal for individuals with T1D. In T1D, insulin-secreting pancreatic islet β-cells are destroyed by the immune system, but glucagon-secreting islet α-cells survive. These remaining α-cells no longer respond properly to fluctuating blood glucose concentrations. Dysregulated α-cell function contributes to hyper- and hypoglycemia which can lead to macrovascular and microvascular complications. To this end, we sought to discover small molecules that suppress α-cell function for their potential as preclinical candidate compounds. Prior high-throughput screening identified a set of glucagon-suppressing compounds using a rodent α-cell line model, but these compounds were not validated in human systems. Results Here, we dissociated and replated primary human islet cells and exposed them to 24 h treatment with this set of candidate glucagon-suppressing compounds. Glucagon accumulation in the medium was measured and we determined that compounds SW049164 and SW088799 exhibited significant activity. Candidate compounds were also counter-screened in our InsGLuc-MIN6 β-cell insulin secretion reporter assay. SW049164 and SW088799 had minimal impact on insulin release after a 24 h exposure. To further validate these hits, we treated intact human islets with a selection of the top candidates for 24 h. SW049164 and SW088799 significantly inhibited glucagon release into the medium without significantly altering whole islet glucagon or insulin content. In concentration-response curves SW088799 exhibited significant inhibition of glucagon release with an IC50 of 1.26 µM. Conclusion Given the set of tested candidates were all top hits from the primary screen in rodent α-cells, this suggests some conservation of mechanism of action between human and rodents, at least for SW088799. Future structure-activity relationship studies of SW088799 may aid in elucidating its protein target(s) or enable its use as a tool compound to suppress α-cell activity in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Kalwat
- Lilly Diabetes Center of Excellence, Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Indiana University School of Medicine, Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- *Correspondence: Michael A. Kalwat, ;
| | - Karina Rodrigues-dos-Santos
- Lilly Diabetes Center of Excellence, Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Derk D. Binns
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Shuguang Wei
- Department Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Anwu Zhou
- Department Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Matthew R. Evans
- Department Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Bruce A. Posner
- Department Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Michael G. Roth
- Department Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Melanie H. Cobb
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
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Small J, Joblin-Mills A, Carbone K, Kost-Alimova M, Ayukawa K, Khodier C, Dancik V, Clemons PA, Munkacsi AB, Wagner BK. Phenotypic Screening for Small Molecules that Protect β-Cells from Glucolipotoxicity. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:1131-1142. [PMID: 35439415 PMCID: PMC9127801 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes is marked by progressive β-cell failure, leading to loss of β-cell mass. Increased levels of circulating glucose and free fatty acids associated with obesity lead to β-cell glucolipotoxicity. There are currently no therapeutic options to address this facet of β-cell loss in obese type 2 diabetes patients. To identify small molecules capable of protecting β-cells, we performed a high-throughput screen of 20,876 compounds in the rat insulinoma cell line INS-1E in the presence of elevated glucose and palmitate. We found 312 glucolipotoxicity-protective small molecules (1.49% hit rate) capable of restoring INS-1E viability, and we focused on 17 with known biological targets. 16 of the 17 compounds were kinase inhibitors with activity against specific families including but not limited to cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK), PI-3 kinase (PI3K), Janus kinase (JAK), and Rho-associated kinase 2 (ROCK2). 7 of the 16 kinase inhibitors were PI3K inhibitors. Validation studies in dissociated human islets identified 10 of the 17 compounds, namely, KD025, ETP-45658, BMS-536924, AT-9283, PF-03814735, torin-2, AZD5438, CP-640186, ETP-46464, and GSK2126458 that reduced glucolipotoxicity-induced β-cell death. These 10 compounds decreased markers of glucolipotoxicity including caspase activation, mitochondrial depolarization, and increased calcium flux. Together, these results provide a path forward toward identifying novel treatments to preserve β-cell viability in the face of glucolipotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonnell
C. Small
- Chemical
Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
- Chemistry
Biology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Aidan Joblin-Mills
- School
of Biological Sciences and Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Kaycee Carbone
- Chemical
Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Maria Kost-Alimova
- Center
for the Development of Therapeutics, Broad
Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Kumiko Ayukawa
- Chemical
Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
- JT
Pharmaceuticals Inc., Takatsuki 569-1125, Osaka, Japan
| | - Carol Khodier
- Center
for the Development of Therapeutics, Broad
Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Vlado Dancik
- Chemical
Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Paul A. Clemons
- Chemical
Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Andrew B. Munkacsi
- School
of Biological Sciences and Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Bridget K. Wagner
- Chemical
Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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5
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Wagner BK. Small-molecule discovery in the pancreatic beta cell. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2022; 68:102150. [PMID: 35487100 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.102150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The pancreatic beta cell is the only cell type in the body responsible for insulin secretion, and thus plays a unique role in the control of glucose homeostasis. The loss of beta-cell mass and function plays an important role in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Thus, using chemical biology to identify small molecules targeting the beta cell could be an important component to developing future therapeutics for diabetes. This strategy provides an attractive path toward increasing beta-cell numbers in vivo. A regenerative strategy involves enhancing proliferation, differentiation, or neogenesis. On the other hand, protecting beta cells from cell death, or improving maturity and function, could preserve beta-cell mass. Here, we discuss the current state of chemical matter available to study beta-cell regeneration, and how they were discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridget K Wagner
- Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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6
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Amin J, Ramachandran K, Williams SJ, Lee A, Novikova L, Stehno-Bittel L. A simple, reliable method for high-throughput screening for diabetes drugs using 3D β-cell spheroids. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods 2016; 82:83-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vascn.2016.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Revised: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 08/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Benthuysen JR, Carrano AC, Sander M. Advances in β cell replacement and regeneration strategies for treating diabetes. J Clin Invest 2016; 126:3651-3660. [PMID: 27694741 DOI: 10.1172/jci87439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decade, new approaches have been explored that are aimed at restoring functional β cell mass as a treatment strategy for diabetes. The two most intensely pursued strategies are β cell replacement through conversion of other cell types and β cell regeneration by enhancement of β cell replication. The approach closest to clinical implementation is the replacement of β cells with human pluripotent stem cell-derived (hPSC-derived) cells, which are currently under investigation in a clinical trial to assess their safety in humans. In addition, there has been success in reprogramming developmentally related cell types into β cells. Reprogramming approaches could find therapeutic applications by inducing β cell conversion in vivo or by reprogramming cells ex vivo followed by implantation. Finally, recent studies have revealed novel pharmacologic targets for stimulating β cell replication. Manipulating these targets or the pathways they regulate could be a strategy for promoting the expansion of residual β cells in diabetic patients. Here, we provide an overview of progress made toward β cell replacement and regeneration and discuss promises and challenges for clinical implementation of these strategies.
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Dirice E, Walpita D, Vetere A, Meier BC, Kahraman S, Hu J, Dančík V, Burns SM, Gilbert TJ, Olson DE, Clemons PA, Kulkarni RN, Wagner BK. Inhibition of DYRK1A Stimulates Human β-Cell Proliferation. Diabetes 2016; 65:1660-71. [PMID: 26953159 PMCID: PMC4878416 DOI: 10.2337/db15-1127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Restoring functional β-cell mass is an important therapeutic goal for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes (1). While proliferation of existing β-cells is the primary means of β-cell replacement in rodents (2), it is unclear whether a similar principle applies to humans, as human β-cells are remarkably resistant to stimulation of division (3,4). Here, we show that 5-iodotubercidin (5-IT), an annotated adenosine kinase inhibitor previously reported to increase proliferation in rodent and porcine islets (5), strongly and selectively increases human β-cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Remarkably, 5-IT also increased glucose-dependent insulin secretion after prolonged treatment. Kinome profiling revealed 5-IT to be a potent and selective inhibitor of the dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase (DYRK) and cell division cycle-like kinase families. Induction of β-cell proliferation by either 5-IT or harmine, another natural product DYRK1A inhibitor, was suppressed by coincubation with the calcineurin inhibitor FK506, suggesting involvement of DYRK1A and nuclear factor of activated T cells signaling. Gene expression profiling in whole islets treated with 5-IT revealed induction of proliferation- and cell cycle-related genes, suggesting that true proliferation is induced by 5-IT. Furthermore, 5-IT promotes β-cell proliferation in human islets grafted under the kidney capsule of NOD-scid IL2Rg(null) mice. These results point to inhibition of DYRK1A as a therapeutic strategy to increase human β-cell proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ercument Dirice
- Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA
| | - Deepika Walpita
- Center for the Science of Therapeutics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
| | - Amedeo Vetere
- Center for the Science of Therapeutics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
| | - Bennett C Meier
- Center for the Science of Therapeutics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
| | - Sevim Kahraman
- Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA
| | - Jiang Hu
- Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA
| | - Vlado Dančík
- Center for the Science of Therapeutics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
| | - Sean M Burns
- Chemical Biology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Diabetes Unit, Departments of Medicine and Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Tamara J Gilbert
- Center for the Science of Therapeutics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
| | - David E Olson
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
| | - Paul A Clemons
- Center for the Science of Therapeutics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
| | - Rohit N Kulkarni
- Islet Cell and Regenerative Biology, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA
| | - Bridget K Wagner
- Center for the Science of Therapeutics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
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Robitaille K, Rourke JL, McBane JE, Fu A, Baird S, Du Q, Kin T, Shapiro AMJ, Screaton RA. High-throughput Functional Genomics Identifies Regulators of Primary Human Beta Cell Proliferation. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:4614-25. [PMID: 26740620 PMCID: PMC4813485 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.683912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The expansion of cells for regenerative therapy will require the genetic dissection of complex regulatory mechanisms governing the proliferation of non-transformed human cells. Here, we report the development of a high-throughput RNAi screening strategy specifically for use in primary cells and demonstrate that silencing the cell cycle-dependent kinase inhibitors CDKN2C/p18 or CDKN1A/p21 facilitates cell cycle entry of quiescent adult human pancreatic beta cells. This work identifies p18 and p21 as novel targets for promoting proliferation of human beta cells and demonstrates the promise of functional genetic screens for dissecting therapeutically relevant state changes in primary human cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karine Robitaille
- From the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L1
| | | | - Joanne E McBane
- From the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L1
| | - Accalia Fu
- From the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L1, the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5
| | - Stephen Baird
- From the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L1
| | - Qiujiang Du
- the Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5
| | - Tatsuya Kin
- the Clinical Islet Transplant Program, University of Alberta, 8215-112 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2C8, and
| | - A M James Shapiro
- the Clinical Islet Transplant Program, University of Alberta, 8215-112 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2C8, and
| | - Robert A Screaton
- the Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, the Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
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10
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Wagner BK. The resurgence of phenotypic screening in drug discovery and development. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2015; 11:121-5. [DOI: 10.1517/17460441.2016.1122589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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