Hypertension is a major risk factor of various diseases including stroke, heart failure, vascular disease, and kidney disease. Angiotensin II, which is produced by the renin-angiotensin system, primarily functions as a physiological regulator of blood pressure and cardiovascular homeostasis, but it also plays a major role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. In the aorta, angiotensin II promotes hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells through angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R), resulting in hypertension by increasing arterial wall thickness and vascular resistance. Additionally, angiotensin II induces physiological proliferation of neonatal but not adult vascular smooth muscle cells. How vascular smooth muscle cells determine the responsiveness to angiotensin II under different developmental conditions is mostly unclear.
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