About the Authors

Chu-Lin Chou

Affiliation Institute of Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan

Cheng-Yoong Pang

Affiliation Institute of Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan

Tony J. F. Lee

Affiliations Institutes of Life Sciences, Pharmacology & Toxicology, and Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, Department of Pharmacology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois, United States of America

Te-Chao Fang

fangtechao@yahoo.com.tw

Affiliations Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: CLC TCF. Performed the experiments: CLC TCF. Analyzed the data: CLC TCF. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CYP TJFL TCF. Wrote the paper: CLC TCF.