Angiotensin II-Induced Gene Expression

The effects of α_v knockout on gene expression were examined at 6 weeks after tamoxifen injection followed or not by a 4-week treatment with Ang II. Anaesthesia was induced by isoflurane inhalation at 3.5% in 1 L/min oxygen, and then maintained at 1.5% in 1 L/min oxygen during the intervention. Angiotensin II was administered at 1.5 mg/kg/day for 28 days via subcutaneous Alzet osmotic minipumps (Charles River, L’Arbresle, France). Prior to pump implantation, mice were conditioned to tail-cuff blood pressure measurement using a computerized mouse tail-cuff sphygmomanometer (Hatteras Instruments, Inc., NC, USA). Systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and heart rate (HR) were measured on the day of surgery and on day 28 prior to euthanasia. Mice were euthanized via exsanguination under isoflurane anaesthesia (1.5% in 1 L/min oxygen). Carotid arteries were used for morphological and histological analyses and thoracic aorta for all other parameters. It is generally accepted including our previous studies that changes in gene and/or protein expression are similar in these two main conductance arteries.^{14 (link)},^{15 (link)}