ANG II-induced hypertension.

All protocols involving animals were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Henry Ford Hospital. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 90–120 g were fed a standard chow containing 0.4% Na and infused with either vehicle (0.01 N acetic acid) or ANG II at 200 ng·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ via osmotic mini-pumps (Durect; model 1007D) for 5 days. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured by a femoral arterial catheter in anesthetized rats (90 mg/kg ketamine, 10 mg/kg xylazine) using a pressure transducer and PowerLab software (ADInstruments, Colorado Springs, CO).