Immune cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension. We hypothesized that under the influence of chromosome 2 (chr2), T lymphocytes contribute to vascular inflammation in genetic salt-sensitive hypertension. Normotensive (Brown Norway), hypertensive (Dahl salt-sensitive) and consomic rats (SSBN2, in which chr2 has been transferred from Brown Norway to Dahl rats) were studied. Systolic blood pressure measured by tail-cuff and aortic preproendothelin mRNA measured by RT-qPCR were elevated in Dahl rats compared with Brown Norway rats, and were reduced in SSBN2 compared with Dahl rats (P