Total RNA Extraction and qRT-PCR Analysis

Total RNA was extracted from cell lines and tissue samples using a Rnase Trizol reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA), according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After the determination of the purity and the integrity, total RNA, complementary DNA synthesis, and quantitative real-time PCR reactions were carried out, as previously described [6 (link)], using the CFX96 real-time instrument (Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Hercules, CA, USA). The housekeeping gene glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was analyzed in all amplification sets to assess the integrity of total RNA. Primer sequences used in the study are reported in Supplementary Table S2.