For verification of the TaqMan® assay, PCR amplification was performed using Platinum PCR Supermix (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). Primers were designed using software Primer3.37 PCR amplification consisted of 2 min at 94°C; eight ‘touch-down’ cycles of 30 sec at 94°C, 30 sec at 63-56°C and 30 sec at 72°C; 30 cycles of 30 sec at 94°C, 30 sec at 56°C and 30 sec at 72°C; and a final step of 7 min at 72°C. PCR products were purified and sequenced on an ABI Prism 3700® capillary sequencer (ABI). Electropherograms were scored using the Sequencer 4.5 software (Gene Codes Corporation, Ann Arbor, MI).
