2.9 ELISA
Levels of collagen I and III (Col I and III) were detected by using ELISA kits (Cloud Clone Corp., China) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, and the absorbance at 450 nm was read. The relative Col I and III levels were calculated according to the standard concentration-absorbency curve.

2.10 Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR)

Total RNA from plasma, tissues or cells was extracted with Trizol reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA). cDNA was synthesized by using the miRNA Reverse Transcription System kit (TaKaRa, Japan) or 2×SYBR real-time PCR premixture (Bioteke Corp., China), following the manufacturer’s protocol. Real-time PCR was performed with the StepOnePLus Real-Time PCR System. The primer sequences and conditions for amplification are in Supplemental Table S2 and S2, respectively. U6 or β-actin was the internal reference. The relative expression of mRNAs and miR was calculated by the 2−△△Ctmethod.