To ensure the reliability of the measurements, rats were trained for one week to acclimatize them to the process of measurement. Blood pressure was measured using a computerized noninvasive tail-cuff manometry system (MODEL MK-2000; Muromachi Kikai Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) in conscious rats between 2 and 5 PM every day, as reported in our previous studies [17 (link),18 (link)].
Urine was collected in metabolic cages, and the 24 h urine volumes and sodium excretions were also measured at the indicated times. The urine sodium concentration in the urine was analyzed by a flame photometer 480 (Ciba Corning Diagnostics, Norwood, MA, U.S.A.). Serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels were measured with commercially available kits (Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, Nanjing, China). In addition, random blood glucose was also measured with a glucose analyzer (Roche, Indianapolis, IN, U.S.A.).
Urine was collected in metabolic cages, and the 24 h urine volumes and sodium excretions were also measured at the indicated times. The urine sodium concentration in the urine was analyzed by a flame photometer 480 (Ciba Corning Diagnostics, Norwood, MA, U.S.A.). Serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels were measured with commercially available kits (Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, Nanjing, China). In addition, random blood glucose was also measured with a glucose analyzer (Roche, Indianapolis, IN, U.S.A.).
