*4.5. Statistical Analysis*

Results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD) unless stated otherwise. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism software (version 7.0, GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA). We checked for outliers by using the PRISM "robust regression and outlier removal" (ROUT) method (Q = 1%, equivalent to a false discovery rate of 1%), as described by Motulsky and Brown [68] and Hughes and Hekimi [69]. Excluded data points (*n* = 0 in rats; *n* = 1 for mouse PCR of *Rarres1*, *CmklR1*, and *IL-11*, respectively) were not included in the calculation of the mean per litter. Subsequently, the means per litter were subjected to further statistical analysis. Before performing groupwise comparisons, outliers were removed [36] and a non-parametric Mann–Whitney U-test was executed. A *p* value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data processing and imaging was performed with Microsoft O ffice 2016 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) and Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Adobe Systems, San José, CA, USA).
