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Rohner VL, Lamothe-Molina PJ, Patriarchi T. Engineering, applications, and future perspectives of GPCR-based genetically encoded fluorescent indicators for neuromodulators. J Neurochem 2024; 168:163-184. [PMID: 38288673 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.16045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
This review explores the evolving landscape of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-based genetically encoded fluorescent indicators (GEFIs), with a focus on their development, structural components, engineering strategies, and applications. We highlight the unique features of this indicator class, emphasizing the importance of both the sensing domain (GPCR structure and activation mechanism) and the reporting domain (circularly permuted fluorescent protein (cpFP) structure and fluorescence modulation). Further, we discuss indicator engineering approaches, including the selection of suitable cpFPs and expression systems. Additionally, we showcase the diversity and flexibility of their application by presenting a summary of studies where such indicators were used. Along with all the advantages, we also focus on the current limitations as well as common misconceptions that arise when using these indicators. Finally, we discuss future directions in indicator engineering, including strategies for screening with increased throughput, optimization of the ligand-binding properties, structural insights, and spectral diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Lu Rohner
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Tommaso Patriarchi
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Hampel B, Farnham A, Lamothe-Molina PJ, Capelli C, Schibler M, Ustero Alonso P, Calmy A, Fehr JS. Low prevalence of asymptomatic mpox in populations at high risk. Lancet Microbe 2023; 4:e856. [PMID: 37597528 DOI: 10.1016/s2666-5247(23)00248-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Hampel
- Department of Public and Global Health, Division of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich 8001, Switzerland; Checkpoint Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Farnham
- Department of Public and Global Health, Division of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich 8001, Switzerland.
| | | | - Céline Capelli
- Department of Public and Global Health, Division of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich 8001, Switzerland
| | - Manuel Schibler
- HIV/AIDS Unit (Infectious Diseases Division), Laboratory of Virology and Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pilar Ustero Alonso
- HIV/AIDS Unit (Infectious Diseases Division), Laboratory of Virology and Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Calmy
- HIV/AIDS Unit (Infectious Diseases Division), Laboratory of Virology and Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jan S Fehr
- Department of Public and Global Health, Division of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich 8001, Switzerland
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Lamothe-Molina PJ, Franzelin A, Beck L, Li D, Auksutat L, Fieblinger T, Laprell L, Alhbeck J, Gee CE, Kneussel M, Engel AK, Hilgetag CC, Morellini F, Oertner TG. ΔFosB accumulation in hippocampal granule cells drives cFos pattern separation during spatial learning. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6376. [PMID: 36289226 PMCID: PMC9606265 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33947-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Mice display signs of fear when neurons that express cFos during fear conditioning are artificially reactivated. This finding gave rise to the notion that cFos marks neurons that encode specific memories. Here we show that cFos expression patterns in the mouse dentate gyrus (DG) change dramatically from day to day in a water maze spatial learning paradigm, regardless of training level. Optogenetic inhibition of neurons that expressed cFos on the first training day affected performance days later, suggesting that these neurons continue to be important for spatial memory recall. The mechanism preventing repeated cFos expression in DG granule cells involves accumulation of ΔFosB, a long-lived splice variant of FosB. CA1 neurons, in contrast, repeatedly expressed cFos. Thus, cFos-expressing granule cells may encode new features being added to the internal representation during the last training session. This form of timestamping is thought to be required for the formation of episodic memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J. Lamothe-Molina
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Franzelin
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lennart Beck
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dong Li
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute of Computational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lea Auksutat
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Research Group Behavioral Biology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tim Fieblinger
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Laura Laprell
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Joachim Alhbeck
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, Center for Experimental Medicine (ZEM), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christine E. Gee
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Kneussel
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Molecular Neurogenetics, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andreas K. Engel
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, Center for Experimental Medicine (ZEM), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Claus C. Hilgetag
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute of Computational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Fabio Morellini
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Research Group Behavioral Biology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas G. Oertner
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Fieblinger T, Perez-Alvarez A, Lamothe-Molina PJ, Gee CE, Oertner TG. Presynaptic cGMP sets synaptic strength in the striatum and is important for motor learning. EMBO Rep 2022; 23:e54361. [PMID: 35735260 PMCID: PMC9346481 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202154361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The striatum is a subcortical brain region responsible for the initiation and termination of voluntary movements. Striatal spiny projection neurons receive major excitatory synaptic input from neocortex and thalamus, and cyclic nucleotides have long been known to play important roles in striatal function. Yet, the precise mechanism of action is unclear. Here, we combine optogenetic stimulation, 2‐photon imaging, and genetically encoded scavengers to dissect the regulation of striatal synapses in mice. Our data show that excitatory striatal inputs are tonically depressed by phosphodiesterases (PDEs), in particular PDE1. Blocking PDE activity boosts presynaptic calcium entry and glutamate release, leading to strongly increased synaptic transmission. Although PDE1 degrades both cAMP and cGMP, we uncover that the concentration of cGMP, not cAMP, controls the gain of striatal inputs. Disturbing this gain control mechanism in vivo impairs motor skill learning in mice. The tight dependence of striatal excitatory synapses on PDE1 and cGMP offers a new perspective on the molecular mechanisms regulating striatal activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Fieblinger
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alberto Perez-Alvarez
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.,Rapp OptoElectronic GmbH, Wedel, Germany
| | - Paul J Lamothe-Molina
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christine E Gee
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas G Oertner
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Perez-Alvarez A, Huhn F, Dürst CD, Franzelin A, Lamothe-Molina PJ, Oertner TG. Freeze-Frame Imaging of Dendritic Calcium Signals With TubuTag. Front Mol Neurosci 2021; 14:635820. [PMID: 33762909 PMCID: PMC7982875 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.635820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The extensive dendritic arbor of neurons is thought to be actively involved in the processing of information. Dendrites contain a rich diversity of ligand- and voltage-activated ion channels as well as metabotropic receptors. In addition, they are capable of releasing calcium from intracellular stores. Under specific conditions, large neurons produce calcium spikes that are locally restricted to a dendritic section. To investigate calcium signaling in dendrites, we introduce TubuTag, a genetically encoded ratiometric calcium sensor anchored to the cytoskeleton. TubuTag integrates cytoplasmic calcium signals by irreversible photoconversion from green to red fluorescence when illuminated with violet light. We used a custom two-photon microscope with a large field of view to image pyramidal neurons in CA1 at subcellular resolution. Photoconversion was strongest in the most distal parts of the apical dendrite, suggesting a gradient in the amplitude of dendritic calcium signals. As the read-out of fluorescence can be performed several hours after photoconversion, TubuTag will help investigating dendritic signal integration and calcium homeostasis in large populations of neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Perez-Alvarez
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.,Rapp OptoElectronic GmbH, Wedel, Germany
| | | | - Céline D Dürst
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.,Rapp OptoElectronic GmbH, Wedel, Germany
| | - Andreas Franzelin
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Paul J Lamothe-Molina
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas G Oertner
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Perez-Alvarez A, Fearey BC, O'Toole RJ, Yang W, Arganda-Carreras I, Lamothe-Molina PJ, Moeyaert B, Mohr MA, Panzera LC, Schulze C, Schreiter ER, Wiegert JS, Gee CE, Hoppa MB, Oertner TG. Freeze-frame imaging of synaptic activity using SynTagMA. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2464. [PMID: 32424147 PMCID: PMC7235013 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16315-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Information within the brain travels from neuron to neuron across billions of synapses. At any given moment, only a small subset of neurons and synapses are active, but finding the active synapses in brain tissue has been a technical challenge. Here we introduce SynTagMA to tag active synapses in a user-defined time window. Upon 395-405 nm illumination, this genetically encoded marker of activity converts from green to red fluorescence if, and only if, it is bound to calcium. Targeted to presynaptic terminals, preSynTagMA allows discrimination between active and silent axons. Targeted to excitatory postsynapses, postSynTagMA creates a snapshot of synapses active just before photoconversion. To analyze large datasets, we show how to identify and track the fluorescence of thousands of individual synapses in an automated fashion. Together, these tools provide an efficient method for repeatedly mapping active neurons and synapses in cell culture, slice preparations, and in vivo during behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Perez-Alvarez
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany
| | - Brenna C Fearey
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany
| | - Ryan J O'Toole
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Wei Yang
- Research Group Synaptic Wiring and Information Processing, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany
| | - Ignacio Arganda-Carreras
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
- Dept. of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Basque Country University, San Sebastian, Spain
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Paul J Lamothe-Molina
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany
| | | | - Manuel A Mohr
- HHMI, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA
| | - Lauren C Panzera
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Christian Schulze
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany
| | | | - J Simon Wiegert
- Research Group Synaptic Wiring and Information Processing, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany
| | - Christine E Gee
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany
| | - Michael B Hoppa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Thomas G Oertner
- Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, D-20251, Germany.
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Hevia-Montiel N, Rodriguez-Perez PI, Lamothe-Molina PJ, Arellano-Reynoso A, Bribiesca E, Alegria-Loyola MA. Neuromorphometry of primary brain tumors by magnetic resonance imaging. J Med Imaging (Bellingham) 2015; 2:024503. [PMID: 26158107 DOI: 10.1117/1.jmi.2.2.024503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging is a technique for the diagnosis and classification of brain tumors. Discrete compactness is a morphological feature of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects. This measure determines the compactness of a discretized object depending on the sum of the areas of the connected voxels and has been used for understanding the morphology of nonbrain tumors. We hypothesized that regarding brain tumors, we may improve the malignancy grade classification. We analyzed the values in 20 patients with different subtypes of primary brain tumors: astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and glioblastoma multiforme subdivided into the contrast-enhanced and the necrotic tumor regions. The preliminary results show an inverse relationship between the compactness value and the malignancy grade of gliomas. Astrocytomas exhibit a mean of [Formula: see text], whereas oligodendrogliomas exhibit a mean of [Formula: see text]. In contrast, the contrast-enhanced region of the glioblastoma presented a mean of [Formula: see text], and the necrotic region presented a mean of [Formula: see text]. However, the volume and area of the enclosing surface did not show a relationship with the malignancy grade of the gliomas. Discrete compactness appears to be a stable characteristic between primary brain tumors of different malignancy grades, because similar values were obtained from different patients with the same type of tumor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nidiyare Hevia-Montiel
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Computer Science Department, Avenue Colon 503-F (x av. Reforma and 62) Centro, Merida-Yucatan 97000, Mexico
| | - Pedro I Rodriguez-Perez
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Computer Science and Engineery, Circuito Escolar s/n Ciudad Universitaria, Distrito Federal 04510, Mexico
| | - Paul J Lamothe-Molina
- Centro Neurológico-Centro Médico ABC , Avenue Carlos Graef Fernandez 154 Col. Tlaxala, Distrito Federal 05300, Mexico
| | - Alfonso Arellano-Reynoso
- Centro Neurológico-Centro Médico ABC , Avenue Carlos Graef Fernandez 154 Col. Tlaxala, Distrito Federal 05300, Mexico ; Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugia Manuel Velasco Suarez , Avenue Insurgentes Sur 3877 Col. La Fama, Distrito Federal 14269, Mexico
| | - Ernesto Bribiesca
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Computer Science Department, Circuito Escolar s/n Ciudad Universitaria, Distrito Federal 04510, Mexico
| | - Marco A Alegria-Loyola
- Centro Neurológico-Centro Médico ABC , Avenue Carlos Graef Fernandez 154 Col. Tlaxala, Distrito Federal 05300, Mexico
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Lamothe-Molina PJ, Lamothe-Molina PA, López-Ávila A. [Beta-1 adrenoceptor blockade decreases the firing rate to painful stimuli in spinal wide-dynamic range neurons in rats]. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc 2014; 52:494-501. [PMID: 25301123] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is known that epinephrine/norepinephrine inhibit acute pain transmission. However, the role of ß-adrenoceptors is not clear. Thus, we analyzed if beta-1 and/or beta-2 adrenoceptors can modulate acute pain transmission by performing in vivo single unit recordings during painful and non-painful peripheral stimulation in rats. METHODS Longitudinal study in which we analyzed seven groups of male rats Wistar: control group (n = 11): saline (0.9 %); EPI group (n = 8): epinephrine 100 mcg; beta-1 agonist group (n = 8): dobutamine 125 mcg; beta-1-antagonist group (n = 9): metoprolol 100 mcg; beta-2-agonist group (n = 7): clenbuterol 100 mcg; beta-2-antagonist group (n = 8): butoxamine 100 mcg; beta-1-antagonist + EPI group (n = 10): metoprolol 100 mcg + epinephrine 100 mcg. For the statistical analysis we used ANOVA. RESULTS Epinephrine significantly reduced the basal firing rate (BFR) in 34.1 % (p < 0.05) and also the evoked response by painful stimulation in 56 % (p < 0.05). No change was observed in the evoked response by non-painful stimulation. ANTß1 was the only beta-adrenoceptor acting drug that significantly reduced the evoked response by painful stimulation in 41 % (p < 0.05). None of the other drugs alone affected either the BFR or the evoked response to non-painful or painful stimulation. CONCLUSIONS It is the first time that a beta-1-adrenoceptor antagonist (metoprolol) probes to be effective in reducing the response to painful stimulation in WDR neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Lamothe-Molina
- Laboratorio de Neurofisiología de la Percepción, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz", Distrito Federal, México.
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