4.1. Animal Model

C57BL/6 female mice, 5–6 weeks of age, 20–25 g, purchased from Harlan Laboratories (Jerusalem, Israel) were bred with 129/SVJ mice purchased from Jackson Laboratories, and only the first generation was used in experiments. Mice were housed under specific pathogen-free conditions at the Hebrew University School of Medicine Animal Resource Center. All experiments were executed in compliance with institutional guidelines and regulations, and the protocols were approved by the Animal Research Committee of the Hebrew University School of Medicine (approval number MD-17-15237-5). In all experiments, animals were euthanized before surgery by carbon dioxide inhalation.