The quantitative PCR reactions were performed in triplicate using a Roche LightCycler 480 quantitative PCR system (Roche Applied Science, Indianapolis, IN). The P2X7R expression levels were normalized to those of GAPDH. Quantitative PCR amplification was performed as 20 μL reactions containing 10 μL of X2 SYBR Green I Master Mix (Roche Applied Science), 0.8 μL of the forward and reverse primers (μM each), and 9.2 μL of the sample or nuclease-free water. All reactions were performed in 96-well plates (LightCycler 480 Multiwell Plates; Roche Applied Science).
The cycling conditions consisted of a 10-minute polymerase activation step at 95°C, 45 cycles of 95°C for 15 seconds, 60°C for 15 seconds, and 72°C for 25 seconds, and a dissociation curve analysis step from 60° to 95°C. The relative quantification results for both P2X7R and GAPDH were calculated according to the second derivative maximum method using LightCycler 480 Software v.1.5 (Roche Applied Science).