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  1. Article ; Online: Kinesins in Mammalian Spermatogenesis and Germ Cell Transport

    Mingxia Yao / Haoyang Qu / Yating Han / C. Yan Cheng / Xiang Xiao

    Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Vol

    2022  Volume 10

    Abstract: In mammalian testes, the apical cytoplasm of each Sertoli cell holds up to several dozens of germ cells, especially spermatids that are transported up and down the seminiferous epithelium. The blood-testis barrier (BTB) established by neighboring Sertoli ...

    Abstract In mammalian testes, the apical cytoplasm of each Sertoli cell holds up to several dozens of germ cells, especially spermatids that are transported up and down the seminiferous epithelium. The blood-testis barrier (BTB) established by neighboring Sertoli cells in the basal compartment restructures on a regular basis to allow preleptotene/leptotene spermatocytes to pass through. The timely transfer of germ cells and other cellular organelles such as residual bodies, phagosomes, and lysosomes across the epithelium to facilitate spermatogenesis is important and requires the microtubule-based cytoskeleton in Sertoli cells. Kinesins, a superfamily of the microtubule-dependent motor proteins, are abundantly and preferentially expressed in the testis, but their functions are poorly understood. This review summarizes recent findings on kinesins in mammalian spermatogenesis, highlighting their potential role in germ cell traversing through the BTB and the remodeling of Sertoli cell-spermatid junctions to advance spermatid transport. The possibility of kinesins acting as a mediator and/or synchronizer for cell cycle progression, germ cell transit, and junctional rearrangement and turnover is also discussed. We mostly cover findings in rodents, but we also make special remarks regarding humans. We anticipate that this information will provide a framework for future research in the field.
    Keywords kinesin ; testis ; sertoli cells ; spermatogenesis ; cell junctions ; blood-testis barrier ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Subject code 571
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-04-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  2. Article ; Online: Cell-Cell Interaction-Mediated Signaling in the Testis Induces Reproductive Dysfunction—Lesson from the Toxicant/Pharmaceutical Models

    Lingling Wang / Tiao Bu / Xiaolong Wu / Sheng Gao / Xinyao Li / Angela Bryanne De Jesus / Chris K. C. Wong / Hao Chen / Nancy P. Y. Chung / Fei Sun / C. Yan Cheng

    Cells, Vol 11, Iss 591, p

    2022  Volume 591

    Abstract: Emerging evidence has shown that cell-cell interactions between testicular cells, in particular at the Sertoli cell-cell and Sertoli-germ cell interface, are crucial to support spermatogenesis. The unique ultrastructures that support cell-cell ... ...

    Abstract Emerging evidence has shown that cell-cell interactions between testicular cells, in particular at the Sertoli cell-cell and Sertoli-germ cell interface, are crucial to support spermatogenesis. The unique ultrastructures that support cell-cell interactions in the testis are the basal ES (ectoplasmic specialization) and the apical ES. The basal ES is found between adjacent Sertoli cells near the basement membrane that also constitute the blood-testis barrier (BTB). The apical ES is restrictively expressed at the Sertoli-spermatid contact site in the apical (adluminal) compartment of the seminiferous epithelium. These ultrastructures are present in both rodent and human testes, but the majority of studies found in the literature were done in rodent testes. As such, our discussion herein, unless otherwise specified, is focused on studies in testes of adult rats. Studies have shown that the testicular cell-cell interactions crucial to support spermatogenesis are mediated through distinctive signaling proteins and pathways, most notably involving FAK, Akt1/2 and Cdc42 GTPase. Thus, manipulation of some of these signaling proteins, such as FAK, through the use of phosphomimetic mutants for overexpression in Sertoli cell epithelium in vitro or in the testis in vivo, making FAK either constitutively active or inactive, we can modify the outcome of spermatogenesis. For instance, using the toxicant-induced Sertoli cell or testis injury in rats as study models, we can either block or rescue toxicant-induced infertility through overexpression of p-FAK-Y397 or p-FAK-Y407 (and their mutants), including the use of specific activator(s) of the involved signaling proteins against pAkt1/2. These findings thus illustrate that a potential therapeutic approach can be developed to manage toxicant-induced male reproductive dysfunction. In this review, we critically evaluate these recent findings, highlighting the direction for future investigations by bringing the laboratory-based research through a translation path to clinical ...
    Keywords testis ; toxicants ; cadmium ; PFOS ; adjudin ; cell-cell interactions ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Subject code 571
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher MDPI AG
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  3. Article ; Online: Human obstructive (postvasectomy) and nonobstructive azoospermia – Insights from scRNA-Seq and transcriptome analysis

    Shitao Chen / Geng An / Hanshu Wang / Xiaolong Wu / Ping Ping / Longfei Hu / Yunmei Chen / Jue Fan / C. Yan Cheng / Fei Sun

    Genes and Diseases, Vol 9, Iss 3, Pp 766-

    2022  Volume 776

    Abstract: A substantial number of male infertility is caused by azoospermia. However, the underlying etiology and the molecular basis remain largely unknown. Through single-cell (sc)RNA sequencing, we had analyzed testis biopsy samples from two patients with ... ...

    Abstract A substantial number of male infertility is caused by azoospermia. However, the underlying etiology and the molecular basis remain largely unknown. Through single-cell (sc)RNA sequencing, we had analyzed testis biopsy samples from two patients with obstructive azoospermia (OA) and nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). We found only somatic cells in the NOA samples and explored the transcriptional changes in Sertoli cells in response to a loss of interactions with germ cells. Moreover, we observed a germ cell population discrepancy between an OA (postvasectomy) patient and a healthy individual. We confirmed this observation in a secondary study with two datasets at GSM3526588 and GSE124263 for detailed analysis wherein the regulatory mechanisms at the transcriptional level were identified. These findings thus provide valuable information on human spermatogenesis, and we also identified insightful information for further research on reproduction-related diseases.
    Keywords Androgen signaling ; Retinoic acid ; Sertoli cell-only syndrome ; Single-cell ; Spermatogenesis ; Medicine (General) ; R5-920 ; Genetics ; QH426-470
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  4. Article ; Online: Rai14 (retinoic acid induced protein 14) is involved in regulating f-actin dynamics at the ectoplasmic specialization in the rat testis*.

    Xiaojing Qian / Dolores D Mruk / C Yan Cheng

    PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 4, p e

    2013  Volume 60656

    Abstract: Rai14 (retinoic acid induced protein 14) is an actin binding protein first identified in the liver, highly expressed in the placenta, the testis, and the eye. In the course of studying actin binding proteins that regulate the organization of actin ... ...

    Abstract Rai14 (retinoic acid induced protein 14) is an actin binding protein first identified in the liver, highly expressed in the placenta, the testis, and the eye. In the course of studying actin binding proteins that regulate the organization of actin filament bundles in the ectoplasmic specialization (ES), a testis-specific actin-rich adherens junction (AJ) type, Rai14 was shown to be one of the regulatory proteins at the ES. In the rat testis, Rai14 was found to be expressed by Sertoli and germ cells, structurally associated with actin and an actin cross-linking protein palladin. Its expression was the highest at the ES in the seminiferous epithelium of adult rat testes, most notably at the apical ES at the Sertoli-spermatid interface, and expressed stage-specifically during the epithelial cycle in stage VII-VIII tubules. However, Rai14 was also found at the basal ES near the basement membrane, associated with the blood-testis barrier (BTB) in stage VIII-IX tubules. A knockdown of Rai14 in Sertoli cells cultured in vitro by RNAi was found to perturb the Sertoli cell tight junction-permeability function in vitro, mediated by a disruption of F-actin, which in turn led to protein mis-localization at the Sertoli cell BTB. When Rai14 in the testis in vivo was knockdown by RNAi, defects in spermatid polarity and adhesion, as well as spermatid transport were noted mediated via changes in F-actin organization and mis-localization of proteins at the apical ES. In short, Rai14 is involved in the re-organization of actin filaments in Sertoli cells during the epithelial cycle, participating in conferring spermatid polarity and cell adhesion in the testis.
    Keywords Medicine ; R ; Science ; Q
    Subject code 571 ; 570
    Language English
    Publishing date 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  5. Article ; Online: Tex13a Optimizes Sperm Motility via Its Potential Roles in mRNA Turnover

    Yinchuan Li / Panpan Mi / Xue Chen / Jiabao Wu / Xiaohua Liu / Yunge Tang / Jinmei Cheng / Yingying Huang / Weibing Qin / C. Yan Cheng / Fei Sun

    Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Vol

    2021  Volume 9

    Abstract: mRNAs have been found to undergo substantial selective degradation during the late stages of spermiogenesis. However, the mechanisms regulating this biological process are unknown. In this report, we have identified Tex13a, a spermatid-specific gene that ...

    Abstract mRNAs have been found to undergo substantial selective degradation during the late stages of spermiogenesis. However, the mechanisms regulating this biological process are unknown. In this report, we have identified Tex13a, a spermatid-specific gene that interacts with the CCR4–NOT complex and is implicated in the targeted degradation of mRNAs encoding particular structural components of sperm. Deletion of Tex13a led to a delayed decay of these mRNAs, lowered the levels of house-keeping genes, and ultimately lowered several key parameters associated with the control of sperm motility, such as the path velocity (VAP, average path velocity), track speed (VCL, velocity curvilinear), and rapid progression.
    Keywords Tex13a ; CCR4–NOT ; Cnot1 ; spermiogenesis ; sperm motility ; knock-out ; Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  6. Article ; Online: Dissecting mammalian spermatogenesis using spatial transcriptomics

    Haiqi Chen / Evan Murray / Anubhav Sinha / Anisha Laumas / Jilong Li / Daniel Lesman / Xichen Nie / Jim Hotaling / Jingtao Guo / Bradley R. Cairns / Evan Z. Macosko / C. Yan Cheng / Fei Chen

    Cell Reports, Vol 37, Iss 5, Pp 109915- (2021)

    2021  

    Abstract: Summary: Single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed extensive molecular diversity in gene programs governing mammalian spermatogenesis but fails to delineate their dynamics in the native context of seminiferous tubules, the spatially confined functional ... ...

    Abstract Summary: Single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed extensive molecular diversity in gene programs governing mammalian spermatogenesis but fails to delineate their dynamics in the native context of seminiferous tubules, the spatially confined functional units of spermatogenesis. Here, we use Slide-seq, a spatial transcriptomics technology, to generate an atlas that captures the spatial gene expression patterns at near-single-cell resolution in the mouse and human testis. Using Slide-seq data, we devise a computational framework that accurately localizes testicular cell types in individual seminiferous tubules. Unbiased analysis systematically identifies spatially patterned genes and gene programs. Combining Slide-seq with targeted in situ RNA sequencing, we demonstrate significant differences in the cellular compositions of spermatogonial microenvironment between mouse and human testes. Finally, a comparison of the spatial atlas generated from the wild-type and diabetic mouse testis reveals a disruption in the spatial cellular organization of seminiferous tubules as a potential mechanism of diabetes-induced male infertility.
    Keywords Biology (General) ; QH301-705.5
    Subject code 612
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Elsevier
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  7. Article ; Online: Ezrin

    N Ece Gungor-Ordueri / Ciler Celik-Ozenci / C Yan Cheng

    Asian Journal of Andrology, Vol 17, Iss 4, Pp 653-

    a regulator of actin microfilaments in cell junctions of the rat testis

    2015  Volume 658

    Abstract: Ezrin, radixin, moesin and merlin (ERM) proteins are highly homologous actin-binding proteins that share extensive sequence similarity with each other. These proteins tether integral membrane proteins and their cytoplasmic peripheral proteins (e.g., ... ...

    Abstract Ezrin, radixin, moesin and merlin (ERM) proteins are highly homologous actin-binding proteins that share extensive sequence similarity with each other. These proteins tether integral membrane proteins and their cytoplasmic peripheral proteins (e.g., adaptors, nonreceptor protein kinases and phosphatases) to the microfilaments of actin-based cytoskeleton. Thus, these proteins are crucial to confer integrity of the apical membrane domain and its associated junctional complex, namely the tight junction and the adherens junction. Since ectoplasmic specialization (ES) is an F-actin-rich testis-specific anchoring junction-a highly dynamic ultrastructure in the seminiferous epithelium due to continuous transport of germ cells, in particular spermatids, across the epithelium during the epithelial cycle-it is conceivable that ERM proteins are playing an active role in these events. Although these proteins were first reported almost 25 years and have since been extensively studied in multiple epithelia/endothelia, few reports are found in the literature to examine their role in the actin filament bundles at the ES. Studies have shown that ezrin is also a constituent protein of the actin-based tunneling nanotubes (TNT) also known as intercellular bridges, which are transient cytoplasmic tubular ultrastructures that transport signals, molecules and even organelles between adjacent and distant cells in an epithelium to coordinate cell events that occur across an epithelium. Herein, we critically evaluate recent data on ERM in light of recent findings in the field in particular ezrin regarding its role in actin dynamics at the ES in the testis, illustrating additional studies are warranted to examine its physiological significance in spermatogenesis.
    Keywords gene regulation ; Musashi ; Musashi-1 ; Musashi-2 ; posttranscriptional control ; RNA binding proteins ; spermatogenesis ; splicing ; testis ; translation ; cell fate ; cell stress ; importin ; karyopherin ; nucleocytoplasmic transport ; spermatid ; spermatocyte ; artificial insemination ; biomarker ; fertility ; fertilization ; flow cytometry ; infertility ; nanotechnology ; oocyte activation ; Postacrosomal Sheath WWI Domain Binding Protein ; sperm ; SPTRX3 ; thioredoxin ; ubiquitin ; ATP binding cassette transporters ; albumin ; high-density lipoprotein ; lipid rafts ; membrane fluidity ; membrane microdomains ; membrane packing ; oxysterols ; reverse cholesterol transport ; sterol transporters ; egg ; heat shock protein A2 ; molecular chaperone ; sperm-egg interactions ; dehydrogenases ; oxidases ; peroxiredoxins ; reactive oxygen species ; spermatozoa ; thiols ; thioredoxins ; antigen-presenting cells ; autoimmunity ; dendritic cells ; epididymis ; macrophages ; peripheral tolerance ; sperm maturation ; genomics ; male infertility ; proteomics ; sperm chromatin ; sperm epigenetics ; sperm DNA damage ; paternal genome ; offspring ; chemotaxis ; rheotaxis ; sperm behavior ; sperm motility ; thermotaxis ; apoptosis ; sperm capacitation ; conservation ; cryobiology ; endangered species ; male fertility ; blood-testis barrier ; ectoplasmic specialization ; ezrin ; Medicine ; R ; Diseases of the genitourinary system. Urology ; RC870-923
    Subject code 612
    Language English
    Publishing date 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  8. Article ; Online: Sertoli Cell Wt1 Regulates Peritubular Myoid Cell and Fetal Leydig Cell Differentiation during Fetal Testis Development.

    Qing Wen / Yuqian Wang / Jixin Tang / C Yan Cheng / Yi-Xun Liu

    PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 12, p e

    2016  Volume 0167920

    Abstract: Sertoli cells play a significant role in regulating fetal testis compartmentalization to generate testis cords and interstitium during development. The Sertoli cell Wilms' tumor 1 (Wt1) gene, which encodes ~24 zinc finger-containing transcription factors, ...

    Abstract Sertoli cells play a significant role in regulating fetal testis compartmentalization to generate testis cords and interstitium during development. The Sertoli cell Wilms' tumor 1 (Wt1) gene, which encodes ~24 zinc finger-containing transcription factors, is known to play a crucial role in fetal testis cord assembly and maintenance. However, whether Wt1 regulates fetal testis compartmentalization by modulating the development of peritubular myoid cells (PMCs) and/or fetal Leydig cells (FLCs) remains unknown. Using a Wt1-/flox; Amh-Cre mouse model by deleting Wt1 in Sertoli cells (Wt1SC-cKO) at embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5), Wt1 was found to regulate PMC and FLC development. Wt1 deletion in fetal testis Sertoli cells caused aberrant differentiation and proliferation of PMCs, FLCs and interstitial progenitor cells from embryo to newborn, leading to abnormal fetal testis interstitial development. Specifically, the expression of PMC marker genes α-Sma, Myh11 and Des, and interstitial progenitor cell marker gene Vcam1 were down-regulated, whereas FLC marker genes StAR, Cyp11a1, Cyp17a1 and Hsd3b1 were up-regulated, in neonatal Wt1SC-cKO testes. The ratio of PMC:FLC were also reduced in Wt1SC-cKO testes, concomitant with a down-regulation of Notch signaling molecules Jag 1, Notch 2, Notch 3, and Hes1 in neonatal Wt1SC-cKO testes, illustrating changes in the differentiation status of FLC from their interstitial progenitor cells during fetal testis development. In summary, Wt1 regulates the development of FLC and interstitial progenitor cell lineages through Notch signaling, and it also plays a role in PMC development. Collectively, these effects confer fetal testis compartmentalization.
    Keywords Medicine ; R ; Science ; Q
    Language English
    Publishing date 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  9. Article ; Online: Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS)-induced Sertoli cell injury through a disruption of F-actin and microtubule organization is mediated by Akt1/2

    Ying Gao / Haiqi Chen / Xiang Xiao / Wing-yee Lui / Will M. Lee / Dolores D. Mruk / C. Yan Cheng

    Scientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-

    2017  Volume 14

    Abstract: Abstract PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonate, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) is an anthropogenic fluorosurfactant widely used in consumer products. While its use in Europe, Canada and the U.S. has been banned due to its human toxicity, it continues to be ... ...

    Abstract Abstract PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonate, or perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) is an anthropogenic fluorosurfactant widely used in consumer products. While its use in Europe, Canada and the U.S. has been banned due to its human toxicity, it continues to be used in China and other developing countries as a global pollutant. Herein, using an in vitro model of Sertoli cell blood-testis barrier (BTB), PFOS was found to induce Sertoli cell injury by perturbing actin cytoskeleton through changes in the spatial expression of actin regulatory proteins. Specifically, PFOS caused mis-localization of Arp3 (actin-related protein 3, a branched actin polymerization protein) and palladin (an actin bundling protein). These disruptive changes thus led to a dis-organization of F-actin across Sertoli cell cytosol, causing truncation of actin microfilament, thereby failing to support the Sertoli cell morphology and adhesion protein complexes (e.g., occludin-ZO-1, CAR-ZO-1, and N-cadherin-ß-catenin), through a down-regulation of p-Akt1-S473 and p-Akt2-S474. The use of SC79, an Akt1/2 activator, was found to block the PFOS-induced Sertoli cell injury by rescuing the PFOS-induced F-actin dis-organization. These findings thus illustrate PFOS exerts its disruptive effects on Sertoli cell function downstream through Akt1/2. As such, PFOS-induced male reproductive dysfunction can possibly be managed through an intervention on Akt1/2 expression.
    Keywords Medicine ; R ; Science ; Q
    Language English
    Publishing date 2017-04-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Nature Portfolio
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  10. Article ; Online: Cell polarity, cell adhesion, and spermatogenesis

    Linxi Li / Ying Gao / Haiqi Chen / Tito Jesus / Elizabeth Tang / Nan Li / Qingquan Lian / Ren-shan Ge / C. Yan Cheng

    F1000Research, Vol

    role of cytoskeletons [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

    2017  Volume 6

    Abstract: In the rat testis, studies have shown that cell polarity, in particular spermatid polarity, to support spermatogenesis is conferred by the coordinated efforts of the Par-, Crumbs-, and Scribble-based polarity complexes in the seminiferous epithelium. ... ...

    Abstract In the rat testis, studies have shown that cell polarity, in particular spermatid polarity, to support spermatogenesis is conferred by the coordinated efforts of the Par-, Crumbs-, and Scribble-based polarity complexes in the seminiferous epithelium. Furthermore, planar cell polarity (PCP) is conferred by PCP proteins such as Van Gogh-like 2 (Vangl2) in the testis. On the other hand, cell junctions at the Sertoli cell–spermatid (steps 8–19) interface are exclusively supported by adhesion protein complexes (for example, α6β1-integrin-laminin-α3,β3,γ3 and nectin-3-afadin) at the actin-rich apical ectoplasmic specialization (ES) since the apical ES is the only anchoring device in step 8–19 spermatids. For cell junctions at the Sertoli cell–cell interface, they are supported by adhesion complexes at the actin-based basal ES (for example, N-cadherin-β-catenin and nectin-2-afadin), tight junction (occludin-ZO-1 and claudin 11-ZO-1), and gap junction (connexin 43-plakophilin-2) and also intermediate filament-based desmosome (for example, desmoglein-2-desmocollin-2). In short, the testis-specific actin-rich anchoring device known as ES is crucial to support spermatid and Sertoli cell adhesion. Accumulating evidence has shown that the Par-, Crumbs-, and Scribble-based polarity complexes and the PCP Vangl2 are working in concert with actin- or microtubule-based cytoskeletons (or both) and these polarity (or PCP) protein complexes exert their effects through changes in the organization of the cytoskeletal elements across the seminiferous epithelium of adult rat testes. As such, there is an intimate relationship between cell polarity, cell adhesion, and cytoskeletal function in the testis. Herein, we critically evaluate these recent findings based on studies on different animal models. We also suggest some crucial future studies to be performed.
    Keywords Cell Adhesion ; Cell Signaling ; Cytoskeleton ; Developmental Molecular Mechanisms ; Membranes & Sorting ; Morphogenesis & Cell Biology ; Pattern Formation ; Medicine ; R ; Science ; Q
    Subject code 571
    Language English
    Publishing date 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher F1000 Research Ltd
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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