Briefly, cDNA was synthesized from total RNA using a PrimeScript RT reagent kit with gDNA Eraser (Takara, Shiga, Japan). Primers for lncRNAs were designed and synthesized. Then, qPCR assays were performed using a Bio-Rad iQ5 Multicolor Real-Time qRT-PCR Detection system (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). The expression levels of lncRNAs were detected as previously described (21 (link)). Human β-actin was used as a housekeeping gene for normalization. The expression levels of lncRNAs were measured in terms of the cycle threshold (CT) and were then normalized to β-actin expression using the 2−ΔΔCt method (21 (link)).