Whole cell RNA (1 μg) was converted to cDNA using the High Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription Kit (Applied Biosystems cat #4368814, ThermoFisher, Waltham, MA, USA). The cDNA was amplified using FastStart Universal SYBR Green Master mix (Applied Biosystems, cat #04913914001, Foster City, CA, USA) in a Corbett RotoGene real-time PCR machine (Qiagen, Germantown, MD). The relative levels of mRNA were calculated from threshold take-off cycle number and normalized to values measured for β-actin in the same samples.
