The VSMC proliferation was evaluated with EdU-positive cells, CCK-8 kits and PCNA expression. a, b EdU-positive cells; c, e CCK-8 kits; d, f mRNA level of PCNA; g, h protein level of PCNA. For SHR-VSMCs, the cells were treated with ELA-21 (200 nM) for 24 h. For WKY-VSMCs, the cells were treated with ELA-21 (200 nM) for 2 h followed by Ang II (100 nM) for 24 h. n = 6 per group in a–c and e; n = 4 per group in d, f–h. Values are mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05.