AGT and endothelial dysfunction: Moreover, some studies have reported a critical role of IL-6 in vascular dysfunction; Wassmann et al. [12] observed that exogenous IL-6 treatment to wild type mice caused endothelial dysfunction in aorta through upregulation of angiotensin II type 1 receptor, while Schrader et al. [11] reported that IL-6 deficiency protected against angiotensin II-induced endothelial dysfunction in carotid arteries.