Ten replicates were used to generate an individual data point in each of the independent experiments in vivo. Nine replicates were used to generate an individual data point in each of the independent experiments in vitro. Results are expressed as the mean ± standard deviation (SD). A statistical software package (SPSS, version 17.0) was used for the data analyses. ANOVA was used to compare quantitative data among groups. The column charts were designed by Graphpad Prism 6.0.
