Genome-wide profiling of m6A methylation in rat cortex following traumatic brain injury via methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing. Rattus norvegicus

The controlled cortical impact (CCI) was chosen to establish the animal model of TBI. After intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital, a 5 mm diameter hole was drilled over the right hemisphere bone equidistant between the lambda and bregma. Then the rats were put on the CCI device (Custom Design Fabrication, USA). The 3 mm impactor tip was placed at the center of the craniotomy to induce moderate injury at 5 m/s speed, 200 msec dwell time, and 2 mm deformation depth. In MeRIP-Seq experiments, 18 rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, and each group had 3 rats. Half of the groups were randomly assigned as TBI groups and the other half were sham operation groups (i.e., only cranial incision was performed).