Table 3.

All primer pairs were designed with the Primer3web web page and intron spanning.

Gene	Name	Efficiency	forward (F) and reverse (R) sequence 3′-5′
18 S	18 S	1.79	F: CGG AAA ATA GCC TTT GCC ATC
			R: AGT TCT CCC GCC CTC TTG GT
alkaline phosphatase	AP	1.81	F: GGA AAT CTG TGG GCA TTG TG
			R: CCC TGA TGT TAT GCA TGA GC
collagen type I, alpha 1	Col1	1.92	F: TGA CCT CAA GAT GTG CCA CT
			R: ACC AGA CAT GCC TCT TGT CC
runt-related transcription factor 2	RUNX2	1.86	F: GCC CCC AAA CAG TAT CTT GA
			R: GCC TGA AGT GAG GTT TTA GGC

Using the OligoAnalyzer 3.1 software all primer pairs were tested for self-dimers, hetero-dimers or hairpin production. The amplicon size was chosen between 150–250 base pairs.