Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR)

To detect miRNA-124, mirVana miRNA isolation Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific) was used to extract miRNAs, and reverse transcriptions were performed using TaqMan MicroRNA Reverse Transcription Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). PCR mixtures were made using Agilent miRNA QRT-PCR Detection Kit (Agilent). To detect the expression of lncRNA-UCA1, MPure™ Total RNA Extraction Kit (117022160, MP Biomedicals) was used to extract total RNA and MMLV Reverse Transcriptase 1st-Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Lucigen) was used to perform reverse transcription. PCR mixtures were made using SYBR^® Green Quantitative RT-qPCR Kit (Sigma-Aldrich). Primers of miRNA-124, lncRNA-UCA1 as well as endogenous control β-actin and U6 were designed and synthesized by GenePharma (Shanghai, China). Sequences of primers were: 5ʹ-TCGGGTAACTCTTACGGT-3ʹ (forward) and 5ʹ-GGTCCATTGAGGCTGTAG-3ʹ (reverse) for UCA1; 5ʹ-GACCTCTATGCCAACACAGT-3ʹ (forward) and 5ʹAGTACTTGCGCTCAGGAGGA-3ʹ (reverse) for β-actin; 5ʹ-CTAGCCTGCAGGCGTGCTG-3ʹ (forward) for miRNA-124. miRNA-124 reverse primer and U6 primers were included in the qPCR kit. Using 2^−ΔΔCT method, lncRNA-UCA1 was normalized to endogenous control β-actin and miRNA-124 expression was normalized to endogenous control U6.