Adenine-treated rats develop a CKD-related cardiovascular disease phenotype. Serum creatine (A), aortic calcium (B), aPWV (C) and aortic distensibility (D) are shown for control and adenine-treated rats after 8 weeks. Excessive media calcification was confirmed by the Von Kossa method in CKD rats but not for controls (Ctrl) (E). (F) Macroscopic pictures of CKD and Ctrl tissue were taken side by side at the time of sacrifice to appreciate the dimensional changes that occurred during the 8-week treatment period: aorta (F1), magnified view of aorta, arrows point at ring-like mineralization (F2), heart (F3). Both the aorta and heart of adenine-treated (CKD) rats were visually enlarged after 8 weeks of treatment. At sacrifice the heart was removed and weighed on a precision balance. Next, obtained values were normalized against body weight (G). Mann–Whitney U test (two-tailed) (A–D, G): *P < .05; **P < .01. Data represented as mean ± SEM.