RNA interferences
The siRNAs for ADAM17 and 11β-HSD2 were designed and synthesized by GenePharma Corporation (Shanghai, China). Control siRNA was scrambled sequence without any specific target. The sequences for targeting human negative control are: sense: 5’-UUCUCCGAACGUGUCACGUTT-3’, antisense: 5’-ACGUGACACGUUCGGAGAATT-3’. The sequences for targeting human ADAM17 are: sense: 5’-CACAUGUAGAAACACUACUTT -3’, antisense: 5’-AGUAGUGUUUCUACAUGUIGTT-3’. The sequences for targeting human 11β-HSD2 are: sense: 5’-CCACUUUCCGUAGCUGCAUTT-3’, antisense: 5’-AUGCAGCUACGGAAAGUGGTT-3’; Transfection of siRNA was performed by using Lipofectamine TM 3000 (Invitrogen, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rockford, IL) as described previously (He et al., 2014). The efficiency of ADAM17 and 11β-HSD2 were determined by western blotting.