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Nucleoside Transport and Nucleobase Uptake Null Mutants in Leishmania mexicana for the Routine Expression and Characterization of Purine and Pyrimidine Transporters. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23158139. [PMID: 35897714 PMCID: PMC9331716 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23158139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of transporters is highly challenging, as they cannot be isolated or studied in suspension, requiring a cellular or vesicular system, and, when mediated by more than one carrier, difficult to interpret. Nucleoside analogues are important drug candidates, and all protozoan pathogens express multiple equilibrative nucleoside transporter (ENT) genes. We have therefore developed a system for the routine expression of nucleoside transporters, using CRISPR/cas9 to delete both copies of all three nucleoside transporters from Leishmania mexicana (ΔNT1.1/1.2/2 (SUPKO)). SUPKO grew at the same rate as the parental strain and displayed no apparent deficiencies, owing to the cells’ ability to synthesize pyrimidines, and the expression of the LmexNT3 purine nucleobase transporter. Nucleoside transport was barely measurable in SUPKO, but reintroduction of L. mexicana NT1.1, NT1.2, and NT2 restored uptake. Thus, SUPKO provides an ideal null background for the expression and characterization of single ENT transporter genes in isolation. Similarly, an LmexNT3-KO strain provides a null background for transport of purine nucleobases and was used for the functional characterization of T. cruzi NB2, which was determined to be adenine-specific. A 5-fluorouracil-resistant strain (Lmex5FURes) displayed null transport for uracil and 5FU, and was used to express the Aspergillus nidulans uracil transporter FurD.
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2
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Del Alamo D, Meiler J, Mchaourab HS. Principles of Alternating Access in LeuT-fold Transporters: Commonalities and Divergences. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167746. [PMID: 35843285 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Found in all domains of life, transporters belonging to the LeuT-fold class mediate the import and exchange of hydrophilic and charged compounds such as amino acids, metals, and sugar molecules. Nearly two decades of investigations on the eponymous bacterial transporter LeuT have yielded a library of high-resolution snapshots of its conformational cycle linked by solution-state experimental data obtained from multiple techniques. In parallel, its topology has been observed in symporters and antiporters characterized by a spectrum of substrate specificities and coupled to gradients of distinct ions. Here we review and compare mechanistic models of transport for LeuT, its well-studied homologs, as well as functionally distant members of the fold, emphasizing the commonalities and divergences in alternating access and the corresponding energy landscapes. Our integrated summary illustrates how fold conservation, a hallmark of the LeuT fold, coincides with divergent choreographies of alternating access that nevertheless capitalize on recurrent structural motifs. In addition, it highlights the knowledge gap that hinders the leveraging of the current body of research into detailed mechanisms of transport for this important class of membrane proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Del Alamo
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. https://twitter.com/DdelAlamo
| | - Jens Meiler
- Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Institute for Drug Discovery, Leipzig University, Leipzig, DE, USA. https://twitter.com/MeilerLab
| | - Hassane S Mchaourab
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
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3
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Spermidine Binding to the Acetinobacter baumannii Efflux Protein AceI Observed by Near-UV Synchrotron Radiation Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy. RADIATION 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/radiation2020016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this work was to test polyamines as potential natural substrates of the Acinetobacter baumannii chlorhexidine efflux protein AceI using near-UV synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) spectroscopy. The Gram-negative bacterium A. Baumannii is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections and an important foodborne pathogen. A. Baumannii strains are becoming increasingly resistant to antimicrobial agents, including the synthetic antiseptic chlorhexidine. AceI (144-residues) was the founding member of the recently recognised PACE family of bacterial multidrug efflux proteins. Using the plasmid construct pTTQ18-aceI(His6) containing the A. baumannii aceI gene directly upstream from a His6-tag coding sequence, expression of AceI(His6) was amplified in E. coli BL21(DE3) cells. Near-UV (250–340 nm) SRCD measurements were performed on detergent-solubilised and purified AceI(His6) at 20 °C. Sample and SRCD experimental conditions were identified that detected binding of the triamine spermidine to AceI(His6). In a titration with spermidine (0–10 mM), this binding was saturable and fitting of the curve for the change in signal intensity produced an apparent binding affinity (KD) of 3.97 ± 0.45 mM. These SRCD results were the first experimental evidence obtained for polyamines as natural substrates of PACE proteins.
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4
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Tatsaki E, Anagnostopoulou E, Zantza I, Lazou P, Mikros E, Frillingos S. Identification of New Specificity Determinants in Bacterial Purine Nucleobase Transporters based on an Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction Approach. J Mol Biol 2021; 433:167329. [PMID: 34710398 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.167329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The relation of sequence with specificity in membrane transporters is challenging to explore. Most relevant studies until now rely on comparisons of present-day homologs. In this work, we study a set of closely related transporters by employing an evolutionary, ancestral-reconstruction approach and reveal unexpected new specificity determinants. We analyze a monophyletic group represented by the xanthine-specific XanQ of Escherichia coli in the Nucleobase-Ascorbate Transporter/Nucleobase-Cation Symporter-2 (NAT/NCS2) family. We reconstructed AncXanQ, the putative common ancestor of this clade, expressed it in E. coli K-12, and found that, in contrast to XanQ, it encodes a high-affinity permease for both xanthine and guanine, which also recognizes adenine, hypoxanthine, and a range of analogs. AncXanQ conserves all binding-site residues of XanQ and differs substantially in only five intramembrane residues outside the binding site. We subjected both homologs to rationally designed mutagenesis and present evidence that these five residues are linked with the specificity change. In particular, we reveal Ser377 of XanQ (Gly in AncXanQ) as a major determinant. Replacement of this Ser with Gly enlarges the specificity of XanQ towards an AncXanQ-phenotype. The ortholog from Neisseria meningitidis retaining Gly at this position is also a xanthine/guanine transporter with extended substrate profile like AncXanQ. Molecular Dynamics shows that the S377G replacement tilts transmembrane helix 12 resulting in rearrangement of Phe376 relative to Phe94 in the XanQ binding pocket. This effect may rationalize the enlarged specificity. On the other hand, the specificity effect of S377G can be masked by G27S or other mutations through epistatic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterini Tatsaki
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry, Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Eleni Anagnostopoulou
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry, Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece. https://twitter.com/EleniAnagn
| | - Iliana Zantza
- Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Panayiota Lazou
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry, Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Emmanuel Mikros
- Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Stathis Frillingos
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry, Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; Institute of Biosciences, University Research Center of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
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Endocytosis of nutrient transporters in fungi: The ART of connecting signaling and trafficking. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:1713-1737. [PMID: 33897977 PMCID: PMC8050425 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasma membrane transporters play pivotal roles in the import of nutrients, including sugars, amino acids, nucleobases, carboxylic acids, and metal ions, that surround fungal cells. The selective removal of these transporters by endocytosis is one of the most important regulatory mechanisms that ensures a rapid adaptation of cells to the changing environment (e.g., nutrient fluctuations or different stresses). At the heart of this mechanism lies a network of proteins that includes the arrestin‐related trafficking adaptors (ARTs) which link the ubiquitin ligase Rsp5 to nutrient transporters and endocytic factors. Transporter conformational changes, as well as dynamic interactions between its cytosolic termini/loops and with lipids of the plasma membrane, are also critical during the endocytic process. Here, we review the current knowledge and recent findings on the molecular mechanisms involved in nutrient transporter endocytosis, both in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in some species of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus. We elaborate on the physiological importance of tightly regulated endocytosis for cellular fitness under dynamic conditions found in nature and highlight how further understanding and engineering of this process is essential to maximize titer, rate and yield (TRY)-values of engineered cell factories in industrial biotechnological processes.
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Key Words
- AAs, amino acids
- ACT, amino Acid/Choline Transporter
- AP, adaptor protein
- APC, amino acid-polyamine-organocation
- Arg, arginine
- Arrestins
- Arts, arrestin‐related trafficking adaptors
- Asp, aspartic acid
- Aspergilli
- Biotechnology
- C, carbon
- C-terminus, carboxyl-terminus
- Cell factories
- Conformational changes
- Cu, copper
- DUBs, deubiquitinating enzymes
- EMCs, eisosome membrane compartments
- ER, endoplasmic reticulum
- ESCRT, endosomal sorting complex required for transport
- Endocytic signals
- Endocytosis
- Fe, iron
- Fungi
- GAAC, general amino acid control
- Glu, glutamic acid
- H+, proton
- IF, inward-facing
- LAT, L-type Amino acid Transporter
- LID, loop Interaction Domain
- Lys, lysine
- MCCs, membrane compartments containing the arginine permease Can1
- MCCs/eisosomes
- MCPs, membrane compartments of Pma1
- MFS, major facilitator superfamily
- MVB, multi vesicular bodies
- Met, methionine
- Metabolism
- Mn, manganese
- N, nitrogen
- N-terminus, amino-terminus
- NAT, nucleobase Ascorbate Transporter
- NCS1, nucleobase/Cation Symporter 1
- NCS2, nucleobase cation symporter family 2
- NH4+, ammonium
- Nutrient transporters
- OF, outward-facing
- PEST, proline (P), glutamic acid (E), serine (S), and threonine (T)
- PM, plasma membrane
- PVE, prevacuolar endosome
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Signaling pathways
- Structure-function
- TGN, trans-Golgi network
- TMSs, transmembrane segments
- TORC1, target of rapamycin complex 1
- TRY, titer, rate and yield
- Trp, tryptophan
- Tyr, tyrosine
- Ub, ubiquitin
- Ubiquitylation
- VPS, vacuolar protein sorting
- W/V, weight per volume
- YAT, yeast Amino acid Transporter
- Zn, Zinc
- fAATs, fungal AA transporters
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Gatchell IT, Huntley RB, Schultes NP, Mourad GS. The guanine-hypoxanthine permease GhxP of Erwinia amylovora facilitates the influx of the toxic guanine derivative 6-thioguanine. J Appl Microbiol 2020; 130:2018-2028. [PMID: 33152175 DOI: 10.1111/jam.14925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
AIM Erwinia amylovora is the causal agent of fire blight, a devastating disease of apples and pears. This study determines whether the E. amylovora guanine-hypoxanthine transporter (EaGhxP) is required for virulence and if it can import the E. amylovora produced toxic analogue 6-thioguanine (6TG) into cells. METHODS AND RESULTS Characterization of EaGhxP in guanine transport deficient Escherichia coli reveals that it can transport guanine, hypoxanthine and the toxic analogues 8-azaguanine (8AG) and 6TG. Similarly, EaGhxP transports 8AG and 6TG into E. amylovora cells. EaGhxP has a high affinity for 6TG with a Ki of 3·7 µmol l-1 . An E. amylovora ⊿ghxP::Camr strain shows resistance to growth on 8AG and 6TG. Although EaGhxP is expressed during active disease propagation, it is not necessary for virulence as determined on immature apple and pear assays. CONCLUSIONS EaGhxP is not required for virulence, but it does import 6TG into E. amylovora cells. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY As part of the disease establishment process, E. amylovora synthesizes and exports a toxic guanine derivative 6TG. Our results are counter intuitive and show that EaGhxP, an influx transporter, can move 6TG into cells raising questions regarding the role of 6TG in disease establishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- I T Gatchell
- Department of Biology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, USA
| | - R B Huntley
- Department of Plant Pathology & Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - N P Schultes
- Department of Plant Pathology & Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - G S Mourad
- Department of Biology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, USA
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An Erwinia amylovora uracil transporter mutant retains virulence on immature apple and pear fruit. Microb Pathog 2020; 147:104363. [PMID: 32615243 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Erwinia amylovora is the causal agent of fire blight, a devastating disease of apples and pears. A previous study revealed that an E. amylovora uracil auxotroph was still virulent and can cause disease, suggesting that uracil can be obtained from the host environment. The E. amylovora genome contains a locus encoding for a uracil transporter belonging to the nucleobase cation symporter 2 family, displaying a high level of amino acid sequence similarity to the Escherichia coli UraA. Expression of E. amylovora UraA in nucleobase transporter-deficient E. coli strains, coupled with radiolabeled uptake studies reveal that E. amylovora UraA is a high affinity uracil transporter with a Km of 0.57 μM. Both E. coli and E. amylovora carrying extra copies of E. amylovora UraA are sensitive to growth on the toxic analog 5-fluorouracil. An E. amylovora ΔuraA::Camr mutant is still able to grow and cause disease symptoms on immature pears and apples.
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Nguyen J, Schein J, Hunt K, Tippmann-Feightner J, Rapp M, Stoffer-Bittner A, Nalam V, Funk A, Schultes N, Mourad G. The Nicotiana sylvestris nucleobase cation symporter 1 retains a dicot solute specificity profile. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.plgene.2020.100226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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9
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Botou M, Yalelis V, Lazou P, Zantza I, Papakostas K, Charalambous V, Mikros E, Flemetakis E, Frillingos S. Specificity profile of NAT/NCS2 purine transporters in
Sinorhizobium
(
Ensifer
)
meliloti. Mol Microbiol 2020; 114:151-171. [DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Botou
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry Department of Medicine School of Health Sciences University of Ioannina Ioannina Greece
| | - Vassilis Yalelis
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry Department of Medicine School of Health Sciences University of Ioannina Ioannina Greece
| | - Panayiota Lazou
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry Department of Medicine School of Health Sciences University of Ioannina Ioannina Greece
| | - Iliana Zantza
- Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department of Pharmacy School of Health Sciences National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens Greece
| | - Konstantinos Papakostas
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry Department of Medicine School of Health Sciences University of Ioannina Ioannina Greece
| | - Vassiliki Charalambous
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry Department of Medicine School of Health Sciences University of Ioannina Ioannina Greece
| | - Emmanuel Mikros
- Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department of Pharmacy School of Health Sciences National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens Greece
| | - Emmanouil Flemetakis
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology Department of Biotechnology Agricultural University of Athens Athens Greece
| | - Stathis Frillingos
- Laboratory of Biological Chemistry Department of Medicine School of Health Sciences University of Ioannina Ioannina Greece
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Campagnaro GD, de Koning HP. Purine and pyrimidine transporters of pathogenic protozoa - conduits for therapeutic agents. Med Res Rev 2020; 40:1679-1714. [PMID: 32144812 DOI: 10.1002/med.21667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Purines and pyrimidines are essential nutrients for any cell. Most organisms are able to synthesize their own purines and pyrimidines, but this ability was lost in protozoans that adapted to parasitism, leading to a great diversification in transporter activities in these organisms, especially for the acquisition of amino acids and nucleosides from their hosts throughout their life cycles. Many of these transporters have been shown to have sufficiently different substrate affinities from mammalian transporters, making them good carriers for therapeutic agents. In this review, we summarize the knowledge obtained on purine and pyrimidine activities identified in protozoan parasites to date and discuss their importance for the survival of these parasites and as drug carriers, as well as the perspectives of developments in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo D Campagnaro
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, 120 University Place, Glasgow, UK
| | - Harry P de Koning
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, 120 University Place, Glasgow, UK
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12
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Cytosolic N- and C-Termini of the Aspergillus nidulans FurE Transporter Contain Distinct Elements that Regulate by Long-Range Effects Function and Specificity. J Mol Biol 2019; 431:3827-3844. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Abstract
Cell nutrition, detoxification, signalling, homeostasis and response to drugs, processes related to cell growth, differentiation and survival are all mediated by plasma membrane (PM) proteins called transporters. Despite their distinct fine structures, mechanism of function, energetic requirements, kinetics and substrate specificities, all transporters are characterized by a main hydrophobic body embedded in the PM as a series of tightly packed, often intertwined, α-helices that traverse the lipid bilayer in a zigzag mode, connected with intracellular or extracellular loops and hydrophilic N- and C-termini. Whereas longstanding genetic, biochemical and biophysical evidence suggests that specific transmembrane segments, and also their connecting loops, are responsible for substrate recognition and transport dynamics, emerging evidence also reveals the functional importance of transporter N- and C-termini, in respect to transport catalysis, substrate specificity, subcellular expression, stability and signalling. This review highlights selected prototypic examples of transporters in which their termini play important roles in their functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Mikros
- Faculty of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - George Diallinas
- Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 15781 Athens, Greece
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