Levels of collagen-1 (A) and Fli1 (B) in the thoracic aortae of rats on a high salt intake (Ctrl NaCl), in the rats with DM (STZ), and in those with DM on a high NaCl intake (STZ NaCl) in Comparison to the control group (Ctrl). Top of each panel; Western blotting representative bands; bottom of each panel, statistical analysis of band density standardized for GAPDH. Each bar represents individual samples pooled and averaged to give means and SEM of 5–7 measurements. STZ, streptozotocin-treated rats developed DM; Ctrl, control; Ctrl NaCl, salt-loaded control rats; STZ NaCl, salt-loaded rats with DM. By 2-way analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni’s test: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 versus Ctrl; #P < 0.05 versus STZ.