2.11. Facial nerve injury model and AAV injection

The rat model was established, and the facial nerve function was evaluated based on published article. 18 Briefly, rats were anaesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of 1% pentobarbital sodium at a dose of 40 mg/kg. After successful anaesthesia, the right posterior auricular incision was made, and the main facial nerve and its three branches were dissected and exposed, and we then used a microinjector to inject the AAV into the neural tissue at this time and tested the effect of virus expression after 3 weeks. As for the nerve injury model, the facial nerve trunk was clamped with a vascular clamp for 50 seconds.