Validation of DEGs by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)
cDNA preparation was achieved using the PrimeScript 1st strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Takara Bio). qPCR was implemented using the SYBR Green Quantitative RT-PCR (Sigma-Aldrich) on an Azure Cielo 3 Real-Time qPCR System (Azure Biosystems). The PCR cycle condition was 50°C for 2 minutes, 95°C for 10 minutes, 95°C for 15 seconds and 60°C for 30 seconds in 40 cycles, then 72°C for10 minutes. After normalization to β-actin mRNA level, the relative transcript amounts were determined by the 2-ΔΔCt method. The primer sequences are displayed in Supplementary Table 1&2 .