AGT and hypertensive disorder: The goals of this study were as follows: 1) to investigate the roles of HMGB1 in Ang II-induced VSMCs phenotypic transformation, migration, and proliferation; 2) to identify miRNAs involved in the regulation of HMGB1 expression; and 3) to determine whether the miRNAs/HMGB1pathway is involved in vascular remodeling in hypertension patients with high plasma Ang II levels.