miRNA isolation
Sample amounts were standardized by volume: The same volume of plasma was used for each RNA isolation, and the same volume of purified RNA was used for all further analyses. The miRNAs were isolated from 50 µL of plasma using a column-based protocol (miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Advanced Kit, (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. cel-miR-39 from 