Stimulation of mononuclear cells with granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in isolated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells increases the expression of versican as well as cytokine induction, and the upregulation of versican during myocardial infarction has a role in the inflammatory reaction, which mediates the subsequent differentiation of monocytes in the infarcted heart [40]. Here, VCAN is linked to myocardial infarction.