The incidence and severity of AAA was similar in transgenic mice over-expressing NOR-1 in all cells of the vascular wall and in the hematopoietic compartment than in those animals in which NOR-1 specifically targets VSMC, thus supporting that the up-regulation of NOR-1 in medial VSMC is a necessary and sufficient condition to aggravate the vascular response to Ang II. The gene discussed is NR4A3; the disease is triple-A syndrome.