Total RNA was extracted from tissues using TRIzol (Takara, Japan) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Total RNA was reverse transcribed into cDNA using a cDNA Synthesis Kit (Takara, China). mRNA levels were tested using Nanodrop one (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). All reactions were performed on the Eppendorf Mastercycler ep realplex (2S; Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany) using following cycling parameters: 95 °C for 30 s, followed by 40 cycles of 95 °C for 15 s, 60 °C for 34 s. RT-qPCR was performed using the FastStart Universal SYBR® Green Master (ROX) (Takara, China). The primer sequences were listed in
The relative expression level for each target gene was normalised by the Ct value of β-actin (internal control) using a 2−ΔΔCt relative quantification method. A meaningful analysis between the two groups was performed by a paired t-test, and a P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.