The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) colorimetric assay was performed in 96-well plates as previously described [Venkatadri et al., 2016 (link)]. Absorbance was measured at 570 nm using a Gen 5 2.0 All-In-One Microplate Reader (BioTek Instruments Inc.).