Animal procedures

Nine-week-old male SHRs and WKYs were purchased from BioLasco Co., Ltd. All rats had free access to drinking water and normal rat chow in a temperature-controlled (24°C ± 2°C) room with a 12-h dark/light cycle. SHRs with systolic blood pressure (SBP) higher than 150 mmHg were selected for this study. Animal experiment was performed in accordance with the principles of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Institutes of Health [NIH], 8th edition, 2011). In addition, we ensure that the manuscript report conforms to the ARRIVE guidelines for animal experiment reports. All animal experiments were approved by the Ethical Review System for Laboratory Animal Welfare of the Wuhan Myhalic Biotechnology Co., Ltd (approval number: 202205041). After acclimation for seven days, WKYs or SHRs were intravenously injected with wogonin (purity ≥ 99.0%; Yunnan Yunyao Laboratory Company Limited) at a dose of 40 mg/kg or equal amount of normal saline every other day for three weeks. The dose of wogonin was selected according to a previous study [28]. Three weeks later, all rats were euthanized with 200 mg/kg pentobarbital sodium (Scrbio) and the aortas and mesenteric arteries (MAs) were collected for further use.