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Roggero CM, Esser V, Duan L, Rice AM, Ma S, Raj GV, Rosen MK, Liu ZP, Rizo J. Poly-glutamine-dependent self-association as a potential mechanism for regulation of androgen receptor activity. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0258876. [PMID: 34986150 PMCID: PMC8730435 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in prostate cancer. Development of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) requires androgen-independent activation of AR, which involves its large N-terminal domain (NTD) and entails extensive epigenetic changes depending in part on histone lysine demethylases (KDMs) that interact with AR. The AR-NTD is rich in low-complexity sequences, including a polyQ repeat. Longer polyQ sequences were reported to decrease transcriptional activity and to protect against prostate cancer, although they can lead to muscular atrophy. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these observations are unclear. Using NMR spectroscopy, here we identify weak interactions between the AR-NTD and the KDM4A catalytic domain, and between the AR ligand-binding domain and a central KDM4A region that also contains low-complexity sequences. We also show that the AR-NTD can undergo liquid-liquid phase separation in vitro, with longer polyQ sequences phase separating more readily. Moreover, longer polyQ sequences hinder nuclear localization in the absence of hormone and increase the propensity for formation of AR-containing puncta in the nucleus of cells treated with dihydrotestosterone. These results lead us to hypothesize that polyQ-dependent liquid-liquid phase separation may provide a mechanism to decrease the transcriptional activity of AR, potentially opening new opportunities to design effective therapies against CRPC and muscular atrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M. Roggero
- Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Victoria Esser
- Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Lingling Duan
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Allyson M. Rice
- Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Shihong Ma
- Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Ganesh V. Raj
- Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Michael K. Rosen
- Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Zhi-Ping Liu
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Josep Rizo
- Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
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2
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Sadar MD. Drugging the Undruggable: Targeting the N-Terminal Domain of Nuclear Hormone Receptors. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2022; 1390:311-326. [PMID: 36107327 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-11836-4_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the development of drugs targeting the N-terminal domain of nuclear hormone receptors, using progress with the androgen receptor as an example. Historically, development of therapies targeting nuclear hormone receptors has focused on the folded C-terminal ligand-binding domain. Therapies were traditionally not developed to target the intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain as it was considered "undruggable". Recent developments have now shown it is possible to direct therapies to the N-terminal domain. This chapter will provide an introduction of the structure and function of the domains of nuclear hormone receptors, followed by a discussion of the rationale supporting the development of N-terminal domain inhibitors. Chemistry and mechanisms of action of small molecule inhibitors will be described with emphasis on N-terminal domain inhibitors developed to the androgen receptor including those in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne D Sadar
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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3
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Sadar MD. Discovery of drugs that directly target the intrinsically disordered region of the androgen receptor. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 15:551-560. [PMID: 32100577 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2020.1732920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and regions (IDRs) lack stable three-dimensional structure making drug discovery challenging. A validated therapeutic target for diseases such as prostate cancer is the androgen receptor (AR) which has a disordered amino-terminal domain (NTD) that contains all of its transcriptional activity. Drug discovery against the AR-NTD is of intense interest as a potential treatment for disease such as advanced prostate cancer that is driven by truncated constitutively active splice variants of AR that lack the C-terminal ligand-binding domain (LBD).Areas covered: This article presents an overview of the relevance of AR and its intrinsically disordered NTD as a drug target. AR structure and approaches to blocking AR transcriptional activity are discussed. The discovery of small molecules, including the libraries used, proven binders to the AR-NTD, and site of interaction of these small molecules in the AR-NTD are presented along with discussion of the Phase I clinical trial.Expert opinion: The lack of drugs in the clinic that directly bind IDPs/IDRs reflects the difficulty of targeting these proteins and obtaining specificity. However, it may also point to an inappropriateness of too closely borrowing concepts and resources from drug discovery to folded proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne D Sadar
- Genome Sciences, BC Cancer and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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4
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Ostano P, Mello-Grand M, Sesia D, Gregnanin I, Peraldo-Neia C, Guana F, Jachetti E, Farsetti A, Chiorino G. Gene Expression Signature Predictive of Neuroendocrine Transformation in Prostate Adenocarcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21031078. [PMID: 32041153 PMCID: PMC7037893 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21031078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) can arise de novo, but much more commonly occurs as a consequence of a selective pressure from androgen deprivation therapy or androgen receptor antagonists used for prostate cancer (PCa) treatment. The process is known as neuroendocrine transdifferentiation. There is little molecular characterization of NEPCs and consequently there is no standard treatment for this kind of tumors, characterized by highly metastases rates and poor survival. For this purpose, we profiled 54 PCa samples with more than 10-years follow-up for gene and miRNA expression. We divided samples into two groups (NE-like vs. AdenoPCa), according to their clinical and molecular features. NE-like tumors were characterized by a neuroendocrine fingerprint made of known neuroendocrine markers and novel molecules, including long non-coding RNAs and components of the estrogen receptor signaling. A gene expression signature able to predict NEPC was built and tested on independently published datasets. This study identified molecular features (protein-coding, long non-coding, and microRNAs), at the time of surgery, that may anticipate the NE transformation process of prostate adenocarcinoma. Our results may contribute to improving the diagnosis and treatment of this subgroup of tumors for which traditional therapy regimens do not show beneficial effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Ostano
- Laboratory of Cancer Genomics, Fondazione Edo ed Elvo Tempia, via Malta 3, 13900 Biella, Italy; (P.O.); (M.M.-G.); (D.S.); (I.G.); (C.P.-N.); (F.G.)
| | - Maurizia Mello-Grand
- Laboratory of Cancer Genomics, Fondazione Edo ed Elvo Tempia, via Malta 3, 13900 Biella, Italy; (P.O.); (M.M.-G.); (D.S.); (I.G.); (C.P.-N.); (F.G.)
| | - Debora Sesia
- Laboratory of Cancer Genomics, Fondazione Edo ed Elvo Tempia, via Malta 3, 13900 Biella, Italy; (P.O.); (M.M.-G.); (D.S.); (I.G.); (C.P.-N.); (F.G.)
| | - Ilaria Gregnanin
- Laboratory of Cancer Genomics, Fondazione Edo ed Elvo Tempia, via Malta 3, 13900 Biella, Italy; (P.O.); (M.M.-G.); (D.S.); (I.G.); (C.P.-N.); (F.G.)
| | - Caterina Peraldo-Neia
- Laboratory of Cancer Genomics, Fondazione Edo ed Elvo Tempia, via Malta 3, 13900 Biella, Italy; (P.O.); (M.M.-G.); (D.S.); (I.G.); (C.P.-N.); (F.G.)
| | - Francesca Guana
- Laboratory of Cancer Genomics, Fondazione Edo ed Elvo Tempia, via Malta 3, 13900 Biella, Italy; (P.O.); (M.M.-G.); (D.S.); (I.G.); (C.P.-N.); (F.G.)
| | - Elena Jachetti
- Department of Research, Molecular Immunology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, 20133 Milan, Italy;
| | - Antonella Farsetti
- National Research Council - Institute of Analysis, Systems and Computer Science –CNR-IASI, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Giovanna Chiorino
- Laboratory of Cancer Genomics, Fondazione Edo ed Elvo Tempia, via Malta 3, 13900 Biella, Italy; (P.O.); (M.M.-G.); (D.S.); (I.G.); (C.P.-N.); (F.G.)
- Correspondence:
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Obst JK, Wang J, Jian K, Williams DE, Tien AH, Mawji N, Tam T, Yang YC, Andersen RJ, Chi KN, Montgomery B, Sadar MD. Revealing Metabolic Liabilities of Ralaniten To Enhance Novel Androgen Receptor Targeted Therapies. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2019; 2:453-467. [PMID: 32259077 PMCID: PMC7088963 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.9b00065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Inhibition of the androgen receptor (AR) is the mainstay treatment for advanced prostate cancer. Ralaniten (formally EPI-002) prevents AR transcriptional activity by binding to its N-terminal domain (NTD) which is essential for transcriptional activity. Ralaniten acetate (EPI-506) the triacetate pro-drug of ralaniten, remains the only AR-NTD inhibitor to have entered clinical trials (NCT02606123). While well tolerated, the trial was ultimately terminated due to poor pharmacokinetic properties and resulting pill burden. Here we discovered that ralaniten was glucuronidated which resulted in decreased potency. Long-term treatment of prostate cancer cells with ralaniten results in upregulation of UGT2B enzymes with concomitant loss of potency. This has proven to be a useful model with which to facilitate the development of more potent second-generation AR-NTD inhibitors. Glucuronidated metabolites of ralaniten were also detected in the serum of patients in Phase 1 clinical trials. Therefore, we tested an analogue of ralaniten (EPI-045) which was resistant to glucuronidation and demonstrated superiority to ralaniten in our resistant model. These data support that analogues of ralaniten designed to mitigate glucuronidation may optimize clinical responses to AR-NTD inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon K. Obst
- Department
of Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Research
Centre, 675 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
- Department
of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University
of British Columbia, 2211 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Jun Wang
- Department
of Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Research
Centre, 675 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Kunzhong Jian
- Departments
of Chemistry and Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2306 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - David E. Williams
- Departments
of Chemistry and Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2306 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Amy H. Tien
- Department
of Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Research
Centre, 675 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Nasrin Mawji
- Department
of Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Research
Centre, 675 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Teresa Tam
- Department
of Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Research
Centre, 675 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Yu Chi Yang
- Department
of Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Research
Centre, 675 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Raymond J. Andersen
- Departments
of Chemistry and Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2306 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Kim N. Chi
- BC
Cancer Agency, 600 West
10th Avenue, Vancouver, British
Columbia V5Z 4E6, Canada
| | - Bruce Montgomery
- University
of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Marianne D. Sadar
- Department
of Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Research
Centre, 675 W 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
- Department
of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University
of British Columbia, 2211 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B5, Canada
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6
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Stelloo S, Bergman AM, Zwart W. Androgen receptor enhancer usage and the chromatin regulatory landscape in human prostate cancers. Endocr Relat Cancer 2019; 26:R267-R285. [PMID: 30865928 DOI: 10.1530/erc-19-0032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The androgen receptor (AR) is commonly known as a key transcription factor in prostate cancer development, progression and therapy resistance. Genome-wide chromatin association studies revealed that transcriptional regulation by AR mainly depends on binding to distal regulatory enhancer elements that control gene expression through chromatin looping to gene promoters. Changes in the chromatin epigenetic landscape and DNA sequence can locally alter AR-DNA-binding capacity and consequently impact transcriptional output and disease outcome. The vast majority of reports describing AR chromatin interactions have been limited to cell lines, identifying numerous other factors and interacting transcription factors that impact AR chromatin interactions. Do these factors also impact AR cistromics - the genome-wide chromatin-binding landscape of AR - in vivo? Recent technological advances now enable researchers to identify AR chromatin-binding sites and their target genes in human specimens. In this review, we provide an overview of the different factors that influence AR chromatin binding in prostate cancer specimens, which is complemented with knowledge from cell line studies. Finally, we discuss novel perspectives on studying AR cistromics in clinical samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzan Stelloo
- Division of Oncogenomics, Oncode Institute, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Andries M Bergman
- Division of Oncogenomics, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Division of Medical Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wilbert Zwart
- Division of Oncogenomics, Oncode Institute, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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7
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Zhao H, Wu M, Wang S, Yu X, Li Z, Dang R, Sun X. Identification of a novel 24 bp insertion–deletion (indel) of the androgen receptor gene and its association with growth traits in four indigenous cattle breeds. Arch Anim Breed 2018. [DOI: 10.5194/aab-61-71-2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract. During the past decades, insertions and deletions (indels) have become
increasingly popular in animal breeding for understanding the relationship
between genotypes and phenotypes. The androgen receptor (AR) plays the
vital role of a bridge on the function of the androgen and has sexual size
dimorphism. For this reason, the objective of this study was to explore the
novel indel variants within the cattle AR gene and to detect their
effects on growth traits in four breeds of Chinese yellow cattle. Herein, we
first confirmed a novel 24 bp indel (AC_000187.1g.4187270-4187293delAATTTATTGGGAGATTATTGAATT) within the intron of
the cattle AR gene. This is consistent with the results predicted
from the NCBI SNP database. The distribution of the indel genotypes of four
Chinese yellow cattle were significantly different from each other
(P < 0.01). After significant correlation analysis, many remarkable
phenotypic differences among the three genotypes were found (P < 0.05).
In conclusion, a novel 24 bp indel within the AR gene
significantly affected growth traits, suggesting that this indel may be a
useful DNA marker for the elimination or selection of excellent individuals for
cattle breeding.
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Oppong E, Stier G, Gaal M, Seeger R, Stoeck M, Delsuc MA, Cato ACB, Kieffer B. An Amyloidogenic Sequence at the N-Terminus of the Androgen Receptor Impacts Polyglutamine Aggregation. Biomolecules 2017. [PMID: 28629183 PMCID: PMC5485733 DOI: 10.3390/biom7020044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The human androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand inducible transcription factor that harbors an amino terminal domain (AR-NTD) with a ligand-independent activation function. AR-NTD is intrinsically disordered and displays aggregation properties conferred by the presence of a poly-glutamine (polyQ) sequence. The length of the polyQ sequence as well as its adjacent sequence motifs modulate this aggregation property. AR-NTD also contains a conserved KELCKAVSVSM sequence motif that displays an intrinsic property to form amyloid fibrils under mild oxidative conditions. As peptide sequences with intrinsic oligomerization properties are reported to have an impact on the aggregation of polyQ tracts, we determined the effect of the KELCKAVSVSM on the polyQ stretch in the context of the AR-NTD using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Here, we present evidence for a crosstalk between the amyloidogenic properties of the KELCKAVSVSM motif and the polyQ stretch at the AR-NTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Oppong
- Department of Integrative Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, INSERM, U964, CNRS, UMR-7104, Université de Strasbourg, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France.
| | - Gunter Stier
- Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH), INF 328, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Miriam Gaal
- Institute of Toxicology and Genetics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
| | - Rebecca Seeger
- Institute of Toxicology and Genetics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
| | - Melanie Stoeck
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
| | - Marc-André Delsuc
- Department of Integrative Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, INSERM, U964, CNRS, UMR-7104, Université de Strasbourg, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France.
| | - Andrew C B Cato
- Institute of Toxicology and Genetics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
| | - Bruno Kieffer
- Department of Integrative Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, INSERM, U964, CNRS, UMR-7104, Université de Strasbourg, 1 rue Laurent Fries, 67404 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France.
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