Quantifying mRNA Expression in Echinococcus Infection

For qRT-PCR analysis, liver tissues were taken from parasitic lesions in E. multilocularis-infected mice and control mice as previously described (32 (link)). Total RNA was extracted from mouse liver tissue using TRIzol Reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) and reverse transcribed into cDNA according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA; cat. no. K1622). Then, the cDNA was subjected to qRT-PCR by the SYBR Green PCR premix (TaKaRa, Dalian, China) in a thermocycler (iQ5 Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) as previously described (34 (link)). Primer sequences for the genes analyzed are listed in Supporting Table S2. Gene expression was normalized to the housekeeping gene GAPDH. Relative mRNA expression was calculated using the 2^-ΔΔCt method.