1. Department of Biochemistry (D.O.S., T.T., H.H., I.K., K.K.), Department of Medicine, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka 565-8565, Japan
2. Department of Physiology (D.O.S.), School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
3. Faculty of Health Sciences (M.S.), Hiroshima International University, Hiroshima 730-0016, Japan
4. Division of Hypertension and Nephrology (T.H.), Department of Medicine, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka 565-8565, Japan