2.3.4. Quantitative PCR
qPCR was carried out using the 7500 Fast Real-time PCR System
(Applied Biosystems). The expression of the target gene was analyzed
in triplicates in a presence of both reference genes and a non-template
control. The reaction mix (20 μl) was composed of 10 μl of 1× Fast
SYBR green PCR Master Mix (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA), 1 μl
of each primer (10 pmol/μl), 5 μl of cDNA and nuclease-free water up
to 20 μl. The qPCR temperature profile was as follows: 10 min at 95 °C
followed by 45 cycles of 10 s at 95 °C, 30 s at 57 °C and 30 s at 72 °C.
Subsequent to the amplification, a melting curve analysis was performed.
A sample was considered to be below the detection limit
when the fluorescence threshold was not reached within 45 cycles. All
reactions were performed in duplicate using two independent RNA
isolations.