All research performed complies with all relevant ethical regulations. All animals were maintained in the core animal facility at Xiamen University, and all experimental procedures involved were performed according to protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Xiamen University. The mouse strains used in this study were generated and maintained on a mixed C57Bl/6; 129 Sv background. Mice analyzed were litter mates and sex-matched whenever possible. Mice and rats were housed in a vivarium with 12 h light /dark cycle with free access to water and food. Male and female animals were used for all experiments.
