Fig. 8.

Losartan (Los) effectively reduced postsurgical mean arterial blood pressure of Cx40^−/− mice without compromising animal health. A: orally administered losartan (8-wk presurgery and throughout recovery period) reduced the blood pressure in Cx40^−/− mice subjected to mild surgery. Blood pressure was measured just before termination of these surgical animals (*P < 0.04; untreated n = 7, treated n = 8). Mean blood pressure in losartan-treated, postsurgical Cx40^−/− mice was not different from 3-day losartan-treated Cx40^−/− mice, nor was it different from Cx40^−/− mice dosed acutely with losartan by intravenous injection (P > 0.05 in both cases). B: animal weights were comparable over the recovery period irrespective of genotype or drug treatment; both WT and losartan-treated Cx40^−/− animals experienced an initial decline in weight that stabilized at comparable levels within 3 days of surgery (n = 14, 17, and 8 for WT, untreated, and treated Cx40^−/− animals, respectively).