2.2. AngII Infusion

We implanted 12- to 16-week-old male mice with osmotic mini-pumps (Alzet model 1007D; DURECT Corp, Cupertino, CA) containing AngII (A9525 Sigma-Aldrich Corp, St. Louis, MO, USA) or saline (n = 22~26 per group). The delivery rate of AngII was 3.2 mg/kg/day for seven days as in the study of Wang HD et al. [26]. All surgical procedures in this experiment were performed by aseptic manipulation, and disinfectant solution (10% povidone-iodine solution, Meiji Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) was used. Mice were sedated in an anesthesia box filled with 3.5% sevoflurane. Then, under continuous inhalation of 2.5% to 3.5% sevoflurane, we made a mid-scapular skin incision with surgical scissors and fine forceps to make a small pocket and placed an osmotic mini-pump inside. The wound was sutured with silk thread. 5 mg/kg of meloxicam was injected subcutaneously as an analgesic.