REN and cardiac hypertrophy: As DOCA-salt administration upregulates the renin-angiotensin system [26], we also studied Ang II-induced hypertension, which likewise in an age-dependent manner led to cardiac hypertrophy both in WT and zyxin KO mice paralleled by severe perivascular and interstitial fibrosis, which was particularly prominent in the hearts of the zyxin KO mice.