Fig. 1

Experimental design and rat carotid artery neointimal formation. A Experimental procedure. First, balloon injury was used in the rat carotid artery to replicate the intimal hyperplasia model. Second, the carotid artery was subjected to small RNA sequencing to identify the differentially expressed tsRNAs (DE-tsRNAs). The expression of partial DE-tsRNAs was verified by qPCR. Then, the potential target mRNAs of the DE-tsRNAs were predicted by bioinformatic analysis. Finally, the expression of the DE-tsRNAs was modulated in vitro and in vivo to determine the function. B Intimal injury of the rat carotid artery was induced by a 2.0F Fogarty catheter. 14 days after surgery, the intima of the carotid artery was thickened and the lumen was narrowed. n = 5. Five sections per sample were measured for neointimal hyperplasia calculations