Figure 1.

RNA stability in mouse brains. C57Bl/6 mice were sacrificed and left at room temperature for 0, 6, 24, 48, 72 or 96 h before dissection (n = 3/interval). PCDH and A3C4 are Agilent RNA integrity reference standards. Their brains were harvested, and half was snap frozen for RNA extraction. The RNA quality was tested by (A) gel electrophoresis, in an Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100. (B) RNA integrity numbers (RIN) were derived from 18 s and 28 s fragment units (FU) in experimental specimens and reference standards, as shown in 0, 24 and 96 h representative histograms. RIN < 7.5 is considered unfit for RNA studies, as it indicates a significant fragmentation.