*2.4. Mice*

Female C57BL/6J (five to seven weeks old) were purchased from The Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). The mice were housed under specific pathogen-free conditions in a facility at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Veterinary Resources. All mouse procedures and experiments were compliant to the protocols of the University of Maryland, Baltimore Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and approved under IACUC protocol 0818014.
