Chronic constrictive injury model

The chronic constrictive injury (CCI) model was developed following the method of Bennett and Xie.¹⁷ In brief, mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection). The left sciatic nerve was then exposed at mid-thigh level through a small incision, and a unilateral constriction injury just proximal to the trifurcation was induced with three loose ligatures using 5-0 silk thread (spaced at a 1-mm interval). In sham-operated control animals, the nerve was exposed but not ligated. The incision was closed in layers, and the wound was treated with antibiotics.