REN and atherosclerosis: Increased uric acid not only accelerates atherosclerosis by increasing overall oxidative stress through increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) activity (Huh et al. 2012; Song and Zhao 2018) but also induces endothelial cell senescence and death through local activation of the renin-angiotensin system.