*2.4. RNA Extraction and Reverse Transcription of cDNA Synthesis*

Homogenization of tissues was performed using a Tissue Lyzer II (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) at 20 Hz for 2 to 3 rounds × 1 min [44]. Total RNA was quantized with a NanoDrop 1000 (PeqLab, Erlangen, Germany). Then, 500 ng of each sample was retro-transcribed in a total reaction volume of 20 μL using the QuantiTect® Reverse Transcription Kit (Qiagen), following the supplier's protocol. The cDNAs were diluted to a final volume of 200 μL with nuclease-free water (Qiagen) and stored at −20◦ C.
